It’s the height of peach season, and I have many new recipes to make use of this delicious fruit. One of my favorites is Peaches in Raspberry Crème Anglaise. The recipe is basically my transformation of the ubiquitous Peach Melba, which is simply poached peaches with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. Here I’ve substituted the Raspberry Crème Anglaise for the ice cream. 

I prefer using white peaches for their delightful perfume-like scent and flavor, but you can use whatever freestonepeaches you have on hand. Cling peaches are nearly impossible to separate in to halves. You want ripe, but not mushy, fruit. Here’s an article on how white peaches differ from yellow ones.

To view some of my other peach recipes: Savarin With White Peaches; White Peach Pie.

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For the Peaches

In a 3-quart kettle, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil with the sugar, lemon juice, the peeled ginger cut into small pieces, and the vanilla bean, split down the middle. Boil this mixture for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to a simmer.

Wash the peaches, removing any fuzz. With a sharp paring knife, cut the peach all the way around along the seam.

 

Gently twist the 2 halves apart, and remove the pits.

Add the peach halves to the simmering syrup, place a smaller pot lid atop the peaches to keep them submerged, and poach for a few minutes—generally, 3-5 minutes, just until barely tender.

Don’t overcook or they will be mushy and quite difficult to peel.

Remove the peaches from the syrup with slotted spoon. Let them cool until you can handle them. Peel the skin from each half and discard. Return the peach halves to the poaching syrup, place the small pot lid on top so they remain submerged, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the Raspberry Coulis

In a food processor, purée the raspberries with the lemon juice, and 4 tablespoons sugar. Taste the purée for sweetness. If not sweet enough, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and purée again. Press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

Stir  the liqueur of your choice into the purée, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until serving time.

For the Crème Anglaise

In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot, beat the egg yolks with a whisk. Very gradually, add the sugar.

Continue beating until the mixture forms a slowly dissolving ribbon when dropped from the whisk.

Beat in the cornstarch. The cornstarch serves two purposes here: 1. It helps protect against curdling. 2. It makes the sauce a bit thicker for this recipe than one would normally want for crème Anglaise.

In the meantime, heat the milk in a small kettle until it boils. By droplets, beat the hot milk into the egg-yolk mixture.

Once all the milk has been beaten in, place the kettle over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to let the mixture come anywhere near the simmer, or it will scramble. You want the sauce just to be thick enough to coat your wooden spoon. The maximum temperature before the sauce begins to curdle is 165°.

Remove the kettle from the heat, place it in ice water, and beat with your whisk until the sauce cools. If the sauce has any curdling or lumping, force it through a fine-meshed sieve. Beat in the vanilla, liqueur, and about 3⁄4 cup of the raspberry coulis.

Cover and refrigerate the crème until ready to serve. Return the remaining raspberry coulis to the refrigerator until serving time.

To Serve the Peaches in Raspberry Crème Anglaise

Place the Amaretti biscuits in a plastic bag, and crush them with a rolling pin until coarse crumbs are formed. These crumbs add a complementary almond flavor and an interesting texture contrast to the Peaches in Raspberry Crème Anglaise.

In a serving bowl or plate, spoon a layer of the raspberry crème Anglaise. Remove the peach halves from the poaching liquid with a slotted spoon so no liquid remains on the fruit. Carefully place 1 or 2 peach halves, cut-side-up, onto the crème Anglaise. Spoon a bit of the remaining raspberry coulis over the peaches. Sprinkle the Amaretti crumbs over the top.

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