A dry summer and rising produce prices meant that Kyla Eaglesham, owner of Madeleines, Cherry Pie and Ice Cream, had to tweak her fruit-pie recipes. But that’s not a bad thing.
1. Wild blueberry and praline crumble
Ontario is in the midst of blueberry season but prices have doubled this year due to a smaller-than-usual crop. (These low-lying bushes require moist soil.) “When blueberries are absolutely perfect, the best recipe uses just fresh blueberries for the pie filling,” Eaglesham says. But she finds that this year’s fruit isn’t as flavourful as usual, so she blends in nuts: pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds. A hint of cinnamon brings out the berries’ tartness (an idea she took from mulled blueberry punch), and a top crust of pralines and graham-cracker crumbs adds texture. “This is a different concept, but we love this combination so much that we’re going to continue making it,” she says.
2. Peach and raspberry
This year, Niagara peaches are incredibly juicy. An early spring and particularly warm summer caused peach season to arrive two weeks sooner that usual, but a sudden blast of frost in late spring led to a short supply. To make her peaches go further, Eaglesham combines them with raspberries, which she stockpiles in the freezer—they hold up well when frozen, unlike fruits like pumpkins and plums. “Raspberries have a clean and tart flavour that goes well with the sweet peaches,” Eaglesham says. She tops the pie with an Amaretto crumble, which she finishes with an apricot glaze after baking.
3. Italian plum galette
“We don’t always make plum pies but the fruit’s been really good this year,” says Eaglesham. You can thank the many sunny days for that. “Fleshy fruit like plums, peaches, and nectarines are ready now.” The early spring allowed plums to ripen on the trees, rather than in warehouses, which would give the fruit a squishy texture. Eaglesham makes her galette with eggs, lemon zest, flour, and orange juice, which she folds into sliced Italian prune plums (the small, purple-skinned variety you’ll often see at the market). She took inspiration from her family’s Eastern European background for the caramelized brown-sugar topping.
$15 each. 1087 Bathurst St., 416-537-3131, #ANX madeleines.ca.
