Poached peach with raspberry sauce

A delicious dessert, full of the taste of seasonal peaches at their best. A quick summer dessert.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Serves 6

400ml (14fl oz) Muscat dessert wine
120g (4½oz) caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
6 ripe, but not soft, white peaches
For the raspberry sauce:
350g (12oz) raspberries, plus extra for decoration
juice 1 lemon
1tbsp icing sugar

1 Place the Muscat, sugar, vanilla pod and 400ml (14fl oz) water in a saucepan big enough to hold the peaches in a single layer. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Make a cross on the top of each peach with a sharp knife and place in the syrup.

Cover with a round of greaseproof paper and place a saucer or small plate on top so that the peaches are submerged. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. When the peaches are cooked, remove them, discard the skins and place in the fridge to cool.

2 Return the syrup to the heat and boil rapidly until reduced to 250ml (9fl oz). This will take approx 30 minutes. Allow to cool before pouring back over the peaches.

3 To make the raspberry sauce, place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Sieve and discard the seeds.

4 To serve the peaches, cut each peach in half and remove the stone. Place in a dish with a little of the poaching syrup and spoon over the raspberry sauce.

Per serving: 200cals, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 38g carbohydrate

Baking blind: To bake blind is to line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill it with ceramic baking beans so that the shell is cooked through before adding the filling. If you don't have any baking beans, don't panic, simply use a thick layer of flour instead.

More exotic summer recipes:

Mediterranean fish stew with rouille croutons

Thai prawn curry with lychees and pineapple

Tagliata

Artichoke, courgette and pea risotto

Chicken braised in sherry vinegar with grapes

Turrón parfait with sherry chocolate sauce

Italian fruit and nut tart with mascarpone

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