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pineapple and peach pie with a coconut oil crust

Sometimes I get ideas stuck in my head. Song lyrics, cravings, and recipes are the worst offenders. It's an itch that can only be scratched by listening to the same song over and over and over, or until I finally sink my teeth into whatever food I've been daydreaming about for days.

This time, it was pineapple, peach, and paprika pie.

This one was divisive. There were haters. A lot of people just didn't get it. Even my mom (on Twitter, none the less) chimed in and was like, "paprika? weird!" Harsh, mom, real harsh.

Well, let me try and explain my train of thought for those who are gonna hate, hate, hate:


It was time to bake my pie of the month. I knew it was going to be some sort stone fruit; California is insane, and we'd blown through rhubarb and most of berry season earlier in the year without me knowing (fruit here comes into season so much faster!). As I flipped through the Four & Twenty Blackbirds' Pie Book for stone fruit pie inspiration, one stuck out to me: peach and paprika. The book described the combination of sweetness from the peaches and the slight spicy, smoky flavor from the paprika as delicious.

And I'll admit — like you guys, I wasn't a believer. But then I remembered those bags of pineapple and cayenne pepper they sell down the hill in the Mission District. Also, Molly was a supporter and reminded me of the dried chili pineapple from Trader Joe's. There was something about the contrast between those two flavors that made both these things an utterly addicting snack. I wondered if pineapple could also work with paprika, since pineapple and peach worked pretty well together just by themselves.

And that's how this idea for pineapple, peach, and paprika pie got stuck in my head.


In the end though, I got talked out of it. Snapchat rained its judgement down on me and I buckled at the knees. One anonymous Snapchatter snarled at me: "pineapple and peach are fine on their own; you're trying too hard!"

Ouch.

But hey! At the end of the day, these recipes are for you guys. So I'm taking your advice and backing far, far away from the paprika. Nothing fancy or special in this pie, folks — just pineapple, peach, and brown sugar. Oh, and some coconut oil in the crust ti give it a little bit of a tropical flavor.

And you know what? You all were right.

It's delicious as it is.

Thank you to Life and Home for sponsoring this post by providing the compensation and pretty flour sack towels that you see in this post! The towels are Life and Home's first product from their own line, designed in Brooklyn, and made in the U.S.A with all American materials. If you haven't checked out Life and Home yet, head on over — they have almost everything you could possibly need and want for a pretty and functional home. In addition to these floral towels, I'm in love with this coffee grinder, this ceramic KitchenAid mixing bowl, and this wooden muddler set for cocktails. I want it all! As always, thank you for supporting Hummingbird High and my awesome sponsors.


Some baker's notes:

• I started my #pieamonth project to get better at making different types of pie; so far I've experimented with different methods for making pie crust (by blind-baking, by hand, by pastry blender, by food processor, etc) as well as different ingredients (all-butter, half-lard, etc). This time, I've decided to try using oil in the crust. This coconut oil pie crust was inspired by this vegan pie crust recipe from Food52; however, I threw in some butter for stability (I was worried that if I used all oil, the crust wouldn't hold its shape). The result was a dough that was as easy to work with as a lard pie crust, but with the richness of a butter crust and a little tropical flavor from the coconut oil. The only issue is that coconut oil tends to get melty fast when handled too much — be sure to keep the ingredients as cold as possible at all times for best results. Check out this recipe for salty honey pie for even more pie baking tips!


• For the leaf crust design, I used these large leaf cookie cutter plungers (check them out in this pretty pear pie) and these smaller ones. Can't recommend them enough!

get the recipe »

Available link for download

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I was worried that the cake would be too sweet so I didnt use all the caramelised juices of the pineapple. For that reason, the bottom cake layer wasnt as soaked through with the caramelised juices but to me, it was sweet enough!


From Joanne Changs Flour

• 1 pineapple
• 1¾ cups (350 grams) sugar
• ½ cup (120 grams) water
• 6 tbs (¾ stick/86 grams) softened unsalted butter, plus ½ cup (1 stick/114 grams), melted and cooled
• 1 cup (140 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Using a serrated knife, peel, halve, and core the pineapple, then cut into ¾-inch-thick slices.  Cut the slices in half.


2. Put ¾ cup (150 grams) of the sugar in the bottom of a medium saucepan.  Add the water and gently swirl the pan to moisten the sugar; if necessary, poke your fingers around the bottom of the pan to make sure all of the sugar is moistened with water.  Place the pan over high heat and leave it undisturbed until the contents come to a rolling boil.  Then continue to boil rapidly without moving the pan until the sugar syrup starts to caramelize.  This will take 3 to 4 minutes: the sugar syrup will boil furiously; then as it thickens, it will boil more languidly; and then you will see some of the syrup start to color and darken around the edge of the pan.

3. When you see color in the pan, gently swirl the pan in a circular motion so the sugar caramelizes evenly, and then keep swirling gently until the caramel is a medium golden brown.  Turn down the heat to low and whisk in the 6 tablespoons butter; be careful, as the caramel may sputter and steam.  Carefully add the pineapple and stir until it is coated with the caramel.  Dont worry if some of the caramel hardens; it will reliquefy as it continues to cook.  Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Then turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the pineapple turns golden brown.  The pineapple will release juice and liquefy the caramel.  Using a fork, transfer the pineapple to a plate.  Continue to boil the remaining liquid on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until thick and syrupy.

4. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan.

5. Add all of the pineapple and the caramel syrup to the prepared pan, arranging the pineapple in concentric circles and covering as much of the bottom of the pan as possible.  Cut the pineapple quarters into smaller pieces to fill in any gaps, and double layer the pineapple if there is extra.

6. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks until blended, then slowly whisk in the remaining 1 cup (200 grams) sugar, the vanilla, and the ½ cup melted butter.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until well combined.

7. Pour the batter evenly over the pineapple in the cake pan.  Tap the pan gently on a countertop to get rid of any air bubbles in the batter and to make sure the batter fills in any crevices in the pineapple and settles into the bottom of the pan.

8. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and springs back when pressed in the middle with a fingertip.  Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

9. Place a serving plate upside down on top of the cake pan, then holding the pan and the plate tightly together, carefully invert them.  Lift off the cake pan.  If some of the pineapple sticks to the pan, remove it and replace it in its place on top of the cake.  Let the cake cool for at least another 30 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.

The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Available link for download

Pineapple and Papaya Crumble

- Discovering a new fruit crumble using my favourite fruits.




You may already now Im a huge fan of crumbles...theyre one of my ultimate comfort foods. And this crumble is second to my all time favourite apple crumble. Yum!

Anyways, I hope you a nice Monday today :)

Available link for download