Peach Melba

Serves 6 Desserts and puddings

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Method

To make the ice cream, heat the cream in a small pan over a medium heat and when bubbles begin to appear around the edges, turn off the heat and add the broken chocolate. Stir well to melt and transfer to a small
bowl to cool.

Cut a cross in the base of each peach and put in a large bowl. Pour over enough boiling water to cover and leave for 6 minutes. Strain through a colander and put into cold water. The skins can then be removed easily.

Put the sugar, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water into a medium pan over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. When the mixture becomes a clear syrup, slice the peaches from their stones, add to the syrup and gently simmer for 9 minutes until a froth forms. Tip them into a cold bowl and place in a larger bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes to help them cool down quickly so they don’t discolour. Put in a blender and process to a purée in two batches. Add the peach schnapps and chocolate and cream mixture to the purée. Churn in an ice cream machine following manufacturer’s instructions and then transfer to a freezer-proof container. Cover and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours.

To make the brittle, line a baking tray with foil. Put the sugar in a medium pan with 5 tablespoons of boiling water and let it dissolve. Bring to a gentle boil until it turns a pale caramel colour. Scatter in the dried raspberry pieces and swirl to distribute them evenly. Pour on to the baking tray and tip the sheet so that it covers evenly and thinly. Leave to cool completely before breaking into shards.

Roughly crush the raspberries and icing sugar together with a fork and chill until needed.

If the ice cream is very hard, take off the lid and put in the fridge for about 10 minutes until it scoops easily. Scoop on to serving plates and arrange a poached peach half next to it and spoon over some crushed raspberry mixture and top with a few shards of brittle.