Peche Melba

09/06/2010

Peche Melba

I am not a baker, but I do love finishing a meal on a sweet note. In fact, I have been known to eat ice cream for dinner on more than one occasion. I love any ice cream dessert that incorporates fruit. Since the last days of summer are slowly slipping away I thought it would be great idea to incorporate one of my favorite summer fruits.

This is the story of the pêche melba. It was a dessert created by Auguste Escoffier for Dame Nellie Melba, an Australian opera star. His original presentation was an ice sculpture of a swan filled with peaches and topped with ice cream and sugar. The recipe was later revised and the swan sculpture was replaced with a raspberry puree.

Pêche Melba

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries

vanilla ice cream

Method

To make a simple syrup which will be used to sweeten the raspberry puree, bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a blender, add raspberries and a couple tablespoons of the simple syrup and blend. Check the sweetness level and continue to add syrup and blend until the puree is sweet enough for your taste.

Pour the raspberry puree through a sieve and push through into a bowl. Reserve in the fridge for later.

Poach peaches for about 10 minutes and dunk them into an ice bath, basically a bowl filled with ice and cold water. The skins should come off easily.

Cut the peaches in half and arrange them artfully with a scoop of ice cream (or two). Drizzle with the raspberry puree.

This is a freshing and light dessert that's sure to please.