The Busy Gourmand

This makes a great late spring/early summer dessert.  Combining fresh blueberries and peaches offers the best result.  But frozen berries and peaches work pretty well if you want to serve this out of season.  It makes a very pretty presentation with very little effort. It rates very high on the “Wow” factor when you bring it to the table as a full cake.

 Pastry Shell 

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and baking powder until combined. Add butter, egg, and vanilla and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Using a spring form pan, press dough ¼” thick onto the bottom and sides, then refrigerate for about 10 minutes to set-up.

Filling 

• ½ cup sugar
• 2 Tbls flour
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 lbs peaches (cut in 1/8 slices)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine sugar, flour and freshly ground nutmeg. Mix thoroughly.  Mix in the blueberries, peaches and lemon juice until well coated.  Pour the mixture into the chilled pastry shell.  Cover loosely with foil or parchment paper and cook for 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees.  Allow to cool thoroughly and serve.