Peach Melba Parfait

            One of the secrets of outstanding cooking is using fresh seasonal ingredients. However, usually as I see produce that is available only for a short period of time during the year I can’t but think of the ways of preserving it for future use in my kitchen.

            As the summer was about to be over, with all its vibrant and delightful fruits and berries disappearing in front of my eyes from the shops and street vendors, I desperately tried to consume as much of those yummy goodies as I could. And as one day I brought home a bag of ripe and juicy peaches, it was obvious that these were the last beautiful peaches available this year. I started to think of how I can keep them as long as possible and at first I considered the idea of freezing them (in the long run, that’s what I often do with seasonal vegetables in fruits). But then a brilliant idea struck me: making a peach ice-cream! The prospect of indulging into a dessert with a true summer flavour was so appealing that I immediately headed to the kitchen and started to cook.

            It was, in fact, amazing to enjoy this ice-cream later on in October and even November: such a great way to beat the autumn depression! Of course, the whole batch of ice-cream is gone by now but I really enjoy looking at the photos of it as they instantly bring those summer days to me again!

Ingredients:

Peach parfait (recipe adapted from the “Recipe collection” magazine)

5 peaches

350 gm peach jam

200 ml water

2 egg yolks

80 gm icing sugar

300 ml heavy cream

500 gm sponge cake

Almond crumble

50 gm butter

50 gm plain flour

50 gm brown sugar

50 gm crushed almonds

Raspberry sauce

200 gm raspberry jam

2 tbsp rum

Serving

450 gm raspberry yoghurt

100 gm white chocolate

Method:

1. For peach parfait, heat the jam and water till the jam melts. Add peaches, cover the pan and cook over low heat, stirring from time to time, for half an hour or till the fruits are soft. Cool the mixture, then remove the core from the peaches and blend them with the poaching liquid. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
2. Beat egg yolks with icing sugar and 2 tbsp of the peach mixture till pale. Cook over a pan of simmering water till it is thick enough to cover the back of a wooden spoon. Cool to room temperature.
3. Whip the cream till firm peaks are formed. Fold it into the egg yolk mixture, together with the remaining peach puree. Divide the parfait between small cups or moulds and put in a freezer.
4. For almond crumble, preheat the oven to 180C. Combine flour, sugar and almonds in a bowl, pour melted butter and stir till the mixture resembles crumbs. Spread it in a thin layer on a baking tray and bake, stirring from time to time, for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
5. For raspberry sauce, heat the jam till it melts, and then stir in the rum.
6. To serve, cut the rounds from the sponge (the size of the moulds in which your parfait has set) and flip each portion of parfait onto a sponge round. Transfer to a plate and spoon 2 tbsp of yogurt around and on the top of it. Sprinkle with almond crumble and drizzle with raspberry sauce. Garnish with white chocolate.

Notes:

1. You will get around 12 – 15 portions of peach parfait from this amount of ingredients.
2. Almond crumble keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge and can be used for adding a texture to all sorts of desserts.