Peaches and Cream Pie
A buttery graham cracker crust filled with creamy, no-bake vanilla cheesecake filling, topped with fresh peach compote sauce.
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Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
- 9-inch Round Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (or a 9-inch pie plate)
Ingredients
Peach Compote
- 1 lb fresh or frozen peaches (@ 4 large peaches)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
Crust
- 1 ½ cups cinnamon graham crackers
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- ¾ - 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 ½ lbs block cream cheese, softened at room temperature for 1 hour
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Peach Compote
- If using fresh peaches, peel, pit and chop the peaches. If using frozen peaches, let them thaw completely, then chop into 1/4 inch chunks.
- In a saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice, sugar and cardamom. Over medium heat, bring the peaches to a boil. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid evaporates and the peaches have a thick, jammy texture.
- You can make the compote in advance, keeping it refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3-6 months.
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Finely crush the graham crackers, using a food processor, or placing them in a freezer bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.
- In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers, brown sugar and salt. Add the melted butter, and stir until evenly moistened and crumbly.
- Firmly press the crumbs against the bottom and up the sides of your tart pan.
- Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Set aside and cool completely before adding the filling.
Filling
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand held mixer), beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla for 1 minute until smooth.
- Add the cold heavy whipping cream and beat on medium high speed for several minutes until fluffy and thick enough to hold its shape. Since there is no gelatin in the filling to "set" the cheesecake, you must whip the filling until it thickens. If it's soft and soupy when you spread it into the crust, it will not set up after chilling.
- Spread the filling into the cooled crust. Use a spoon to create a sort of "well" in the center of the pie for the peach compote, with a "dam" of cheesecake around the edges. Fill the center with the peach compote.Or, for a more decorative look, fill the crust with 2/3 of the cheesecake. Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip, and fill with the remaining 1/3 of the cheesecake. Pipe the cheesecake decoratively around the edges of the pie, then fill the center with the peaches.
- Refrigerate for two hours before serving.
Notes
Refrigerate leftover pie for up to 2 days. This pie is best eaten within the first 24 hours, since the crust will start to get a little soft by the second day.
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