This year has had a pretty weird growing season. Usually, near the start of September I am knee-deep in concord grapes but this year they are nowhere to be found and instead peaches are still lingering around. Considering peaches are my favourite fruit, this isn't a bad thing at all. A while ago, I promised a continuation of the crisp series and here it is: with a fantastic peach crisp recipe.
Crisps tend to make me think of fall since they have a long cooking time in an oven and pie-like aromas. Peaches however, are very much a summer fruit. That combination makes this recipe the perfect transition from summer to fall.
Some flavour pairings are meant to be, like peanut butter and chocolate. Peaches and ginger are another winning combination.The crisp filling portion of the recipe has been changed to reflect this pairing by including a little bit of ground ginger.
The filling tastes like peach pie and the crisp on top is light and crunchy without any oatmeal to complicate the texture. The best part though is when the top crisp nearest the sides of the ramekin starts to caramelize and take on a hardened crème brûlée texture.
I love the colour contrast peach skin gives. However, if you find the skin on peaches too bitter than it can be easily removed. Bring a pot of water to a boil and dunk the peaches in it for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to an ice water bath for an additional 30 seconds. The skin should easily peel off now using just your fingers. Proceed with the rest of the recipe after cutting the peeled peaches into slices. This method works best for fresh peaches. If the peaches are starting to turn brown and mushy in spots this will not work as well.
Frozen peach slices can be used instead, as long as you make sure to adjust the final cooking time; give it about 5 minutes extra. These cook best in the middle of the oven. if the crisp hasn't browned enough at the end of the 45-50 minutes of cook time, turn on the broiler for a minute or two. The crisps should be golden-brown on top and nice and bubbly. Don’t forget to give them a 10 minute rest period or they will burn your mouth!
Pies and crisps go really well with a scoop of ice cream. Most people tend to go with the classic vanilla ice cream as the side. I’m here to suggest something different. There are a ton of ice cream flavours out there. Why not try a different combination? You can go with something complimentary like salted caramel, or try a raspberry sorbet for more of a contrast. Salted caramel is my favourite ice cream for peach crisps. It's a match made in heaven. Don’t be afraid to spice things up every once in a while.
Not a huge fan of peaches? Prefer berries? No worries, check out the Ramekin Berry Crisp post instead for a more in depth look at how to make a perfect crisp!
Ramekin Peach Ginger Crisps
- Yield: 4 servings |
- Prep time: 15 min |
- Wait time: 10 min |
- Cook Time: 45 - 50 min |
- Total: 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients:
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3 cups peach slices (~3 peaches)
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2/3 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
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1/2 cup all-purpose flour
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1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
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1/8 tsp ground ginger
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1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
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1/8 tsp salt
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1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-2cm cubes + extra for greasing ramekins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 4 ramekins (8 oz.) with butter then set them aside.2. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together in a bowl.
3. Add the cold, unsalted butter cubes into the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut/blend the butter into the dry mixture. The cut pieces of butter should be no larger than a pea.
4. Using a spoon, mix 1/2 cup of the crisp mixture into a bowl with the peach slices.
5. Fill each ramekin with a quarter of the peach mixture. About 3/4 cup in each ramekin.
6. Spoon the extra crisp mixture on top of the peaches, splitting it evenly between the ramekins.
7. Place the filled ramekins on a baking sheet and into the middle rack of the oven for 45-50 minutes. The crisps should be golden brown and bubbling. If not browned enough, set the oven to broil for at most 2 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Enjoy!