Who Needs Pie Crust?

There’s nothing like a piece of fresh fruit pie, especially when it’s topped with a brown-sugar streusel. This is a lighter version, which is especially appealing in the heat of summer, because it has no crust. It’s all about the fruit, peaches and raspberries, which are topped with streusel, then baked in a cast-iron skillet until brown and bubbly.

Not having a crust, of course, also lowers the calories in each serving.

It’s important to begin with good, ripe peaches. They should have a cream or yellow background, be soft to the touch and fragrant.

If they’re not quite ripe, place the peaches in a paper bag and let them stand at room temperature for a day or two until they soften.

To peel peaches, place them in a saucepan of boiling water, a few at a time, for one to two minutes. Use a knife to cut into one; if the skin peels easily, plunge the peaches into ice water to stop the cooking, then peel and slice. Toss them quickly with the other ingredients or they’ll turn brown.

Serve this right from the oven to the table.

If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, use a shallow 10-inch baking dish.

Peach and Raspberry Streusel

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes

2 tablespoons cold butter, plus more for preparing skillet

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

5 cups peeled, sliced peaches (about 5 peaches)

1 cup raspberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter a seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet.

Blend together the flour, brown sugar, cardamom and butter in a bowl using a pastry blender or your fingers until blended and crumbly. Set aside.

Combine the peaches, raspberries, granulated sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, almond extract and salt in a bowl. Pour into the skillet. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top.

Bake until browned and bubbly and the peaches are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 212 calories; 78 mg sodium; 8 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 47grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 1.86 grams fiber.