diff --git a/lib/middleman-gh-pages/tasks/gh-pages.rake b/lib/middleman-gh-pages/tasks/gh-pages.rake
index 5d08146..c0900ef 100644
--- a/lib/middleman-gh-pages/tasks/gh-pages.rake
+++ b/lib/middleman-gh-pages/tasks/gh-pages.rake
@@ -26,9 +26,9 @@ file GH_PAGES_REF => BUILD_DIR do
       sh "git checkout gh-pages"
     else
       sh "git checkout --orphan gh-pages"
-      sh "touch index.html"
+      FileUtils.touch(File.join(BUILD_DIR, 'index.html'))
       sh "git add ."
-      sh "git commit -m 'initial gh-pages commit'"
+      sh "git commit -m \"initial gh-pages commit\""
       sh "git push #{remote_name} gh-pages"
     end
   end