Peach Melba
A simplified version of Escoffier’s classic Peach Melba, this quick and delicious dessert uses a fresh peach, vanilla ice cream, and seedless raspberry preserves served over pound cake and sprinkled with sliced almonds.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 ripe peach
- 2 slices pound cake
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream, about ⅓ cup each
- ¼ cup seedless raspberry preserves, warmed in the microwave to loosen
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 2 mint sprigs
Method
- Using a sharp or serrated vegetable peeler, peel the skin from the peach and cut it into quarters to release the pit.
- Place the pound cake in the base of 2 dishes, set the ice cream on top and arrange 2 peach quarters on either side of the ice cream.
- Drizzle with the raspberry preserves and sprinkle with the almonds.
- Garnish with the mint and serve immediately.
Notes
Peach Melba was a creation of Escoffier, the great chef of the late 19th and early 20th century for the Australian soprano Nellie Melba. It is conventionally made with a poached peach, vanilla ice cream and a raspberry coulis. Here I have simplified the recipe using a fresh peach, as it doesn’t have to be poached to be delicious, and seedless raspberry preserves. This is a quick way to make a delicious dessert that dates back to the 1890s.
