I don’t eat peaches often, but when I do, oh my … Their sweet, fleshy fruit is so versatile, and pairs well with lots of ingredients – sweet, savoury, spicy and herbaceous. That’s why I created this recipe. It’s outrageously simple, but the flavours are crazy.
Honey-cinnamon baked peaches with thyme mascarpone
Prep 15 min
Chill 2 hr
Cook 10 min
Serves 4
4 ripe peaches, halved and stoned
50ml vegetable oil
For the herby cream
180ml double cream
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp runny honey
180g mascarpone
½ tsp fine salt
For the honey-cinnamon butter
75g unsalted butter
3 tbsp runny honey
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ ground cinnamon
Combine the cream and herbs in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for two hours. Using a sieve, strain into another bowl and add the honey, mascarpone and salt. Mix with a hand whisk or free-standing mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
For the honey-cinnamon sauce, put the butter in a frying pan and set it over a medium heat. Let the butter cook, gently shaking the pan every so often to prevent the butter solids from burning, until it begins to smell toasted and turns a deep golden brown. Pour this into a heatproof bowl, mix in the honey, vanilla and cinnamon, and put to one side until ready to serve.
Heat the grill to medium-high. Line a grill pan or baking tray with greaseproof paper and put the halved peaches on it. Brush the fruit with oil and grill for two to three minutes on each side, until you see light char marks. Put a dollop of the herby cream on top of each peach, finish with a drizzle of the buttery sauce and serve.
