Fresh, succulent stone fruit is just as sensational cooked.
At home, we keep a bowl of cherries on the kitchen bench throughout the season. Everybody grabs two or three of the irresistibly glossy, crimson clusters as they pass and discreetly discards the pips directly into the garden.
I also love a fresh, fragile but perfectly ripe white peach, bursting with juice. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who doesn’t, although I have come across people who don’t believe they should be cooked.
Put a bowl of peaches or cherries on the table after lunch, and dessert is served. But some occasions call for something a little more elaborate, and sometimes even cherries must be cooked. These three desserts are easy, light and summery.
FINANCIERS TAKE THEIR NAME from their resemblance to gold bars. These extremely addictive little cakes are sometimes known as friands. A truly great financier has a good crust, so the oven must be hot. You can use blueberries, raspberries or blackberries if you prefer.
CHERRY FINANCIER
200g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
4 tbsp flour
70g ground almonds
½ tsp baking powder
salt
4 egg whites
grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup pitted cherries
Preheat the oven to 200?C. Grease and line with baking paper a 20cm x 15cm baking tin. In a saucepan, melt the butter until it turns a nut brown colour, tip it into a stainless steel bowl and refrigerate to cool. The butter must remain liquid.
Sift together the dry ingredients and combine in a mixing bowl with the egg whites. Blend until thoroughly mixed. Slowly add the melted butter and the lemon zest.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread the cherries over the top. Bake for 25 minutes or until a light brown crust forms on top and the financier is springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Cut into fingers and serve dusted with icing sugar and whipped cream or yoghurt. Best eaten on the day they’re made.
Serves 8.
NECTARINES MAY BE SUBSTITUTED for peaches in this classic Italian dish. I prefer to use yellow-fleshed peaches, and you can substitute almond macaroons or Italian amaretti biscuits for the almond biscuits. I occasionally splash a little rum over the fruit just before baking.
GRILLED PEACH WITH ALMOND BISCUIT, CRÈME FRAîCHE & MINT
4 peaches, halved and pitted
150g crumbled almond biscuits (recipe
below) or Italian amaretti biscuits
1 egg
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar or soft brown sugar
butter
Preheat the oven to 180?C. Combine the crumbled almond biscuits with the egg and sugar. Place spoonfuls of the mixture into the hollow in the peach. Place the peach halves in a lightly buttered ovenproof dish and bake for 30 minutes until the fruit is tender and the almond mixture has caramelised slightly. Remove from the oven and serve either hot or cold with crème fraîche and snipped mint leaves.
Serves 4.
ALMOND BISCUITS
360g blanched almonds, toasted and
ground
300g sugar
10g flour
4 egg whites
300g sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp almond essence
Preheat the oven to 130?C. Combine the almonds, first measure of sugar and flour. Whisk the egg whites to stiff-peak stage; then slowly add the second measure of sugar and continue to mix until glossy and stiff.
Now fold in the almond essence and the lemon zest. Grease and flour a flat baking sheet – or line one with baking paper – and place teaspoons of meringue on it. Bake for one hour. Turn the heat off and allow the biscuits to cool in the oven for a further hour.
Remove the tray from the oven and transfer the biscuits to a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
Makes 40.
THIS EXQUISITELY SIMPLE dessert requires little effort but produces wonderful results if you get it right. The peach skins add a soft pink hue to the syrup; the sabayon is a lighter version of the Italian zabaglione. The key to a great sabayon is to have the water no warmer than body temperature during cooking.
Lemon verbena is one of the greatest summer herbs, adding top-note fragrances to salads, soups, grilled fish or fruit based desserts. It also makes the most refreshing tea. If you can’t obtain it, use mint instead.
POACHED PEACH WITH LEMON VERBENA SABAYON
1 x bottle riesling (750ml)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
grated rind of one lemon
1 vanilla pod
6 peaches
4 egg yolks
4 tbsp sugar
80ml riesling
2 tbsp lemon verbena, chopped
Set aside 80ml of the riesling. Bring the remaining wine, water, sugar, lemon and vanilla to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Score the top of the peaches with the tip of a sharp knife and carefully poach them for 3 minutes. Remove them to a plate with a slotted spoon. Peel, and allow to cool.
Reduce the poaching syrup until thick, about 5 minutes. Pour about 5cm of water into the bottom of a saucepan and bring it to a bare simmer. In a mixing bowl over the water, whisk together the yolks, sugar and riesling.
Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is a thick, pale yellow. This should take about 8 minutes. Add the lemon verbena.
Place the peaches on individual serving plates, spoon the reduced syrup around them and top with the sabayon.
Serves 6.