Peach Melba is one of those dessert classics that have persevered and didn’t run out of fashion in over a hundred years. There have been numerous slight variations but in essence it stayed the same. Lovely, sweet peaches with vanilla ice cream, drizzled in raspberry sauce. Since it is summer now and peaches are in season I tried to maintain their fresh flavour by keeping them raw and turning them into a sweet sorbet. Here is my take on the wonderful classic which is peach melba sorbet with vanilla ice cream
I remember my first peach melba very well. It has a brilliant flavour combination but the peach itself was way too overpowering for me. Conventional peach melba calls for peaches poached in sugar syrup, but this destroys both the texture and natural flavour, and in my honest opinion is completely unnecessary. While I love the flavour combination of peach, raspberry and vanilla, the poached peach itself is too heavy for me so I decided to give this recipe a spin. To keep the lovely taste of fresh peaches while adding lovely sweetness to this dessert I opted for a raw sorbet.
It sure is a healthier way to enjoy peach melba and I believe it is also a far more satisfying one. No more chasing slippery fruit across the plate, you can just dig into this luscious, soft sorbet and enjoy the full flavour that comes with it. In fact you can serve this peach sorbet on its own and then you would have six lovely portions but then again… who could resist a tall glass of peach melba sorbet with vanilla ice cream.
- 1.25 kg (3 lb) very ripe peaches
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp agave
- 400g (3 cups) raspberries
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tub of vanilla ice cream, bought or homemade
- To make the sorbet pit the peaches and puree them in a food processor with 2 tsp of lemon juice and 4 tbsp of agave. Peeling them is optional since the skin is very soft and blends up.
- Pour the fruit puree into an ice cream machine and process it.
- Transfer into a freezer friendly dish and freeze for another 1-3 hours before serving if you want a scoopable sorbet.
- While the peach sorbet is chilling you can make your raspberry sauce. Add the raspberries, 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp of water to a saucepan and gently bring to a simmer over low to medium heat.
- Blitz the berries with 2 tbsp of water in a blender and strain the puree through a mesh sieve. Use a spoon to make sure you press all the liquids out and have only seeds left in your sieve. Discard the seeds and pour the pure fruit into a sauce pan. Add the sugar and bring to a simmer over low to medium heat.
- Gently simmer until the liquid has reduced by about a third and looks more like a sauce. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Once ready to serve scoop vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet into bowls. Pour over the cold raspberry sauce and garnish with a few fresh berries.
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