PEACH SLAB PIE WITH ADRIANN RAMIREZ

“When I bake, I’m always thinking about composition and balance, and I think that applies across all creative mediums. There’s a rhythm to good baking, just like there is in dance or poetry."

Adriann Ramirez is Head Pastry Chef at Fink’s and a multidisciplinary creative. Alongside baking, Adriann is a dancer and poet, whose work blurs the lines between food and art. Adriann’s style is bold, expressive and deeply seasonal, rooted in the rhythms of the produce they work with.

This Peach Slab Pie is no exception: layered and anchored in the fleeting height of summer stone fruit, made with Domenico's White Peaches that, in Adriann’s words, “taste like what you hope a peach would taste like.”

“I’ve had the best peaches of my life since living in London… Natoora Peaches taste like what you hope a peach would taste like. It's just the most amazing, fantastic flavour,” Adriann reflects.

Having trained in dance and filmmaking, Adriann's approach to pastry has always been shaped by a broader creative practice, from the way each bake is composed to the feeling it evokes.

Here, Adriann shares a method for a summer pie built around the structure and flavour of the fruit, with guidance on how to get the balance, bake and seasoning just right, using a dusting of Diaspora Co Peni Miris Cinnamon.

PEACH SLAB PIE

INGREDIENTS

For the pie dough

375g plain flour
250g unsalted cold butter
1 tsp table salt
90g ice cold water
30g apple cider vinegar
50g caster sugar

For the filling

1kg White Peaches
100g caster sugar
1/4 tsp Diaspora Co Peni Miris Cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 vanilla pod
Juice of one Lemon
3 tbsp cornflour
Pinch of salt
Demerara Sugar,  for sprinkling
Double cream, for glazing and serving

METHOD

To make the pie filling

1. Slice the peaches into wedges, about 1 inch thick. Toss them in the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt, cornflour and vanilla. Leave to macerate for 30min.
   
2. Drain the peaches and keep the maceration liquid and place in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until the liquid begins to bubble. Once bubbling, cook for a further minute until thick. Add the now thickened liquid back in with the peaches, and mix. At this point taste and add more sugar, lemon or spice if you feel it needs it, and set aside to cool completely.
   

To make the pie dough

1. While the peaches are macerating, begin work on the dough. Cut the very butter into 1cm chunks and keep cold in the fridge until ready to use.
   
2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large enough bowl. Add in the cold chunks of butter and either use a fork to begin breaking it up or use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until a rough breadcrumb texture forms. It is important to break down the butter enough, but to still keep big enough chunks, which will aid in the flaky layers we’re trying to achieve.
   
3. Add all of the liquids at once, gently mix with your hands or wooden spoon, until just coming together. We’re looking for a shaggy, but hydrated dough.
   
4. On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out of the bowl.
   
5. With your hands, press the dough into a rectangular shape, roughly 21cmx29cm. With a knife, cut it into four equal bits and stack two of them on top of each other. You should have two separate stacks.
   
6. Using a rolling pin, gently press them into a rectangular shape, same size. Repeat once more and let the two bits of dough rest in the fridge for 10 minutes, to keep the dough cold.
   
7. Repeat step 5, once more and cover with clingfilm and chill the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes.
   
8. Using a rolling pin, roll out your two separate pieces of dough to the shape of your tray to about 2cm thickness, with at least 1 inch excess on the sides. Refrigerate your second dough.
   
9. With the first dough, press firmly on the sides of the tray. Dock your pastry lightly with a fork on the base.
   
10. Crumple up a piece of parchment and flatten it to make it more pliable. Add baking beans of choice and fill the parchment. Blind bake the base at 170°C for 15 minutes. Bake for a further 8 minutes sans beans.

To bake and assemble

1. Add the pie filling to your base and spread evenly.
   
2. Using a pastry brush lightly brush a bit of double cream onto the  top edge of your pastry.
   
3. Add your other sheet of pastry on top and trim the pastry, leaving a 1cm excess. Use that to crimp the edges and seal the pie.
   
4. Brush the top with double cream and sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top. Slice in a vent in the middle of the pie and bake at 170°C for 40 minutes.
   
5. Serve with softly whipped cream, or pour it straight over. It’s delicious straight from the oven or cooled.

You’re known for some incredibly beautiful pastries and cakes that are as much an art piece as they are food. What inspired you to get into baking?

Oh, good question. When I was a child, I used to watch three things on television: reality shows, MTV music videos, and anything pastry-related on the Food Network. I thought that's what I would do when I grew up, but then I decided that actually I was going to be a dancer. So, I went on to study dance and filmmaking, and I’m also a poet and writer, too. Later, I started working front of house at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco as a part-time job while I was dancing. This is what reignited my obsession with pastry and taught me about seasonality and the mix of American and French style baking.

So, when did you move from California to London?

I officially moved here in 2016. I worked at Violet Cakes and did some baking there. I was also front of house for a stint at Black Axe Mangal. I've done pretty much every part of the food industry at this point. I started working at Finks in 2017, originally as a barista, and then I was working in the dinner service that we had back then. They were looking for a new pastry chef, it was only a three day a week position and they asked if I knew any bakers and I just jumped at that chance. I was an avid home baker at this point and really wanted to get onto Great British Bake Off, but thankfully I got this job instead!

Your work spans pastry, dance, choreography, film, and poetry, all rich forms of expression. How do these disciplines intersect for you, and what do you think they reveal about your approach to creativity?

When I bake, I’m always thinking about composition and balance, and I think that applies across all creative mediums. There’s a rhythm to good baking, just like there is in dance or poetry. It might sound a bit silly, but once you’re in it, you can really lose yourself.

You’ve long championed seasonal produce in your bakes, with peaches being a prominent ingredient when in season. What is it about Natoora Peaches that you love so much?

Natoora Peaches taste like what you hope a peach would taste like. It's just the most amazing, fantastic flavour.

Did you eat a lot of peaches in California?

I ate a lot of cherries, citrus, and watermelon. I do miss the California watermelon. As for peaches, I’ve had the best peaches of my life since living in London.

Are there any other seasonal ingredients you love working with, and why?

I'm kind of a sucker for anything that's slightly left field. I’m obsessed with nectavignes, loganberries, tayberries and quince.

Talk to us about the peach pie you’ve made. What are the pastry chef tips that ensure our home cooks make something totally delicious?

The one thing you should definitely not miss is letting the fruit macerate with the corn flour and then cooking out that macerating liquid. It's life changing. You won’t get a soggy base.

If you're hosting for friends, what's your dream dinner party menu?

I love a big lasagne. Or, I went to a dinner party once and the host served côte de boeuf which she placed centre stage on the table and just sliced up for the guests. Serve that with a massive green salad or in winter, a pink radicchio salad.

You’ve been doing a lot of pastry collabs and events lately. Anything coming up you’re excited about?

There are a lot of… what’s the phrase? Irons in the fire. But one thing I’m really excited about is a supper club I’m doing with Paris Rosina. She’s wild. An incredible chef and just so much more. We’re totally spiritually aligned, and I know our food is going to come together in such a powerful way.

And the big one: Fink’s is opening in Clissold House. I’m so excited about that. It’s going to be massive.

Where’s your favourite spot to eat right now?

Sonora Taquería, hands down. I love them. We did a collaboration with them recently on a Fink’s ice cream sandwich and it’s been such a joy. People really loved it, and it gave me the chance to get a bit closer to them, which has been amazing. Their tacos are just next level. It honestly feels like a home away from home.