My two favourite cooking  skills  at the moment are making bread and pastry. I am fortunate enough not to have a gluten intolerance, which means that I do make rather  a lot of bread and pastry.

They are also skills that I will be teaching from next term. I taught them on a couple of courses this summer and both skills were enjoyed and eaten with pride. I think they are important to learn  because  they taste delicious, are cheap to make and contain no artificial preservatives or mono di-glycerol hydrogenated unrecognisable ingredients that I can’t even spell!

I will also be posting a good bread recipe soon. I took over a selection of breads to a lunch party last weekend and  they were all enjoyed and eaten happily by adults and children alike. None of the breads were expensive to make but they made a great addition to the lunch table and they were extremely tasty.

But for now, I have a pastry based recipe. A very easy to manage, buttery pastry dough which is the basis for my mini and maxi peach & Marsala pies. I made 12 little pies and a large one from the recipe below.

As I had been sent a jar of Truvia I decided to try this out in my recipe as it is a product I have not tried before. It is a natural plant based sweetener which is used in the same way you would use regular sugar. You just use less of it. For more information you can check out their website HERE.

Surprisingly, it worked well in this recipe. I really did not like the aroma when I opened the jar. It has a strong vanilla aroma I would normally associate with cheap vanilla essence. But, this disperses through the cooking process and  tastes absolutely fine. I was  sure to use it sparingly  and this seemed to work for me. I have yet to try it in a non baking dish but as long as the vanilla aroma cannot be detected, I may not mind it. Bear in mind that I also do not really like the smell of fresh vanilla pods!

I am entering these pies into the One Ingredient Challenge, hosted this month by Working London Mummy (I am the co-host). The ingredient for August is PEACHES. I am also entering  Tea Time Treats, this month hosted by What Kate Baked (co-hosted by Lavender & Lovage). The challenge is PIES. It is also my entry to Simple and in Season, this month back with original host  Ren at Fabulicious Food. And another! This is also an entry into Calendar Cakes, co-hosted by Dolly Bakes & Laura Loves Cakes. The theme is BRITISH SUMMERTIME.

 Peach & Marsala Pies

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients :- Makes 12 little & 1 large pie

For the peach filling :-

• 1kg peaches (nectarines can be used too)

• 40g plain flour

• pinch of salt

• 1oz (28g) Truvia

• 2tbsp Marsala

For the pastry :-

• 350g plain flour

• 225g butter (cut into small cubes)

• pinch of salt

• 1tbsp Truvia

• 40ml ice cold water (you may need up to 60ml)

Method :-

For the filling :-

1. Peel and chop the peaches into small chunks.

2. Put them in a bowl along with the other ingredients and set aside.

For the pastry :-

1. Put the flour in a large bowl with the salt, Truvia and butter.

2. Rub the mixture until you get fine breadcrumbs then add the water.

3. Combine with your hands and then wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

To assemble the mini pies:-

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Roll out  half of the  pastry and use a cutter to cut out 12 round shapes.

3. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

4. Add 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture to the centre of the pastry.

5. Top with a circle of pastry slightly larger than the base, and press down firmly with your fingers.

6. Glaze with egg wash and make some air holes using a fork.

7. Sprinkle with sugar and bake in the oven for 20/25 minutes until golden brown.

To assemble the large pie :-

1. Place the remaining peach mixture into a large pie dish. Add in some blueberries.

2. Put some egg wash on the rim of the pie dish.

3. Top with the remaining half of the pastry which you can roll out to cover the pie dish.

4. Cover with a layer of egg wash then make  some air holes using a fork.

5. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 40/45 minutes.

Notes :-

• Next time I make this pie, I will double the quantity of Marsala.

• The little pies would freeze very well and you could re-heat them from frozen.

• If using real sugar and not Truvia, you will need to double the sugar quantity.

Disclaimer :-I was sent a jar of Truvia to review. All opinions expressed about this product are my own. I have decided to include a small review of the product as part of this recipe post and have created my recipe to suit this natural sweetener. Thanks to Truvia for sending me a jar to sample.