Pêches Cardinal

Beautifully poached fresh peaches served with raspberry sauce. A light and refreshing end to the meal I prepared to honour what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday.

Whole peaches are poached in a liquid simply flavoured with sugar and a vanilla bean. The liquid isn’t used in the dessert; it’s simply discarded or saved to poach another day. The peaches are peeled while still warm and are served chilled with an easy-to-make raspberry coulis (sieved, puréed raspberries and sugar).

The only thing I didn’t care for was that the peaches are left whole so each guest had to contend with a pit. The flesh of the peach came away cleanly from the pit, but I made the mistake of serving it in a bowl which made it awkward to eat…a dessert plate would have been a better choice (more room to maneuver!).

A great make-ahead dessert that took advantage of fresh local produce.