Ingredients
for the pastry
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, diced
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
for the filling
6 Large yellow peaches (approximately 1kg)
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 “thumb sized” piece of fresh ginger, minced (approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons of dark rum (optional)
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 egg yolk, mixed with 2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons peach jam
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
Blend flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add butter and shortening and pulse in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball, divide and then flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic and chill 2 hours.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil and have a bowl of icy water ready. Cut a small X in the base of each peach. Plunge the peaches into the boiling water for a about 30 seconds and then remove them with a slotted spoon and place them directly into the ice bath. The skin should have loosened enough for you to peel it off easily. Slice the peaches down the middle and remove the stone, then slice into wedges. In a bowl, toss the peach slices with the ginger, sugar, corn starch and rum (if you are so inclined) and set aside for about an hour to marinate. The sugar and corn starch will create a sauce and the ginger and rum will become one with the peaches.
Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare 9 inch pie plate with baking spray.
Roll your pastry out into a disc about 1/3 inch in thickness. Place it in your pie dish with an inch of overhang. Roll the other disc out to the same size and thickness as the base and slice into approximately irregular strips to make your flower petals. cut a circular piece of the center. Spoon your peach filling into the base. There will be quite a bit of sauce left, you do not need to use all of this. Create a flower petal arrangement over the filling. Mix together egg yolk and milk and brush pie with the egg wash. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour, until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Remove to a wire rack. Mix together peach jam and lemon juice and brush over the pastry. This will give it a nice shine. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving to let the juices firm up somewhat. Serve warm (with vanilla ice cream!) or cold.
