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Peach Melba ice cream
Serves 6 Desserts and puddings
For the ice cream
- 300ml double cream
- 100g good quality white chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 700g ripe peaches
- 100g caster sugar
- juice 1 lemon
- 2tbsp peach schnapps
For the raspberry brittle (optional)
- 125g caster sugar
- 1tsp freeze-dried raspberries, crushed up a little
To serve
- 125g fresh raspberries
- 2tsp icing sugar
- 6 poached peach halves (optional)
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, then 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. Remove the skins – they should now come off easily. Put the sugar, lemon juice and 2tbsp water in a medium pan set 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 ina larger bowl of cold water for around 10 minutes to help them cool down quickly so they don’t discolour. Transfer to a blender and process to a purée in two batches. Add the peach schnapps and chocolate- cream mixture to the purée. Churn in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then transfer to a freezerproof container. Cover and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours.
To make the brittle, if using, line a baking tray with foil. Put the sugar in a medium pan with 5tbsp 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 prepared baking tray and tip the sheet so 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 put in the fridge until needed.
When ready to serve, if the ice cream is very hard, take off the lid and put in the fridge for around 10 minutes until it scoops easily (you will have more than you need, so keep what is not used in the freezer). Scoop the softened ice cream on to serving plates and spoon over some crushed raspberry mixture. Top with a few shards of brittle, if using, and serve with the peach halves, if using.
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