On Aug. 3, Flinchbaugh's Orchard & Farm Market in Hellam Township hosted its sixth annual peach baking contest. Bakers were asked to create a recipe using Flinchbaugh's Orchard peaches. Judges assessed each submission on creativity, flavor, presentation, texture, and quality.
Winners were announced at 1 p.m. under the orchard pavilion. Each winner took home a "I'm Peachy" certificate, a gift card, and a week's supply of fresh picked peaches.
The first-place winner was Wendy Smith's peach crumble tart with Amaretti cookie crust. Taking second place was Rona Elliot's peach upside down cake roll. The third-place winner was Julie Swartz with her peach blackberry pie.
The first-place recipe is below, and additional recipes can be found at http://www.flinchbaughsorchard.com.
Peach Crumble Tart with Amaretti Cookie Crust
Crust:
2 1/2 cup almond meal (Wendy prefers Bob's Red Mill)
1 1/4 cup superfine sugar (not confectioner's sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup tapioca flour
6 cups Flinchbaugh's Red Haven peaches pealed and diced
2 teaspoon almond extract
Crumb Topping:
12 ounces salted butter, grated
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare tart pan by oiling and lightly flouring it.
2. Mix the dry ingredients for the crust, then add the extracts, followed by the egg whites, one at a time.
3. Form cookie crust into a disk. If the dough is too sticky, chill for one hour. This seems to depend on how humid it is.
4. Press crust into tart pan evenly and prick crust with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (At this time you will want to increase the heat in the oven to 425 degrees.)
5. Blanch and peel peaches, then dice them. Drain them so that there is not too much extra juice.
6. Stir in tapioca flour, sugar, and 2 teaspoon of almond extract.
7. Pour into tart pan. Depending on the size of your pan, there may be a little left over filling. Wendy used this to make cobbler.
8. Make crumb topping. Begin by grating 12 ounce of salted butter.
9. Cut in 2/3 cup of packed light brown sugar and 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour as well as a tablespoon of ground cinnamon. When the mixture forms pea size crumbles, it is ready. Spread the crumble on the top of the tart in a thick layer. (Again, any leftover can be used to top a small dish of cobbler.)
10. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until filling bubbles and the topping is golden brown.
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