Anyways, like I said, I invented this recipe with a friend a few years ago and it was my first experience of going to the farmers' market with no idea of what I wanted to make for dinner. We found the freshest, best looking veggies and fruits, including some peaches, and used those ingredients to guide our way in choosing what to make for dinner. It was peach season, as it is right now, and we discovered that day the benefits of buying fruit/veggies at the height of their season: they are so en pointe in their flavor and aroma. The peaches we bought were perfectly ripe - they were juicy, sweet, and simply delicious. We invented the best dessert to complement their fantastic flavor and that is what I want to share with you today.
The idea of this dessert is based around one of my all time favorite summertime desserts (and cartoon characters!), the strawberry shortcake. It's basically the same concept, but using different, kicked-up ingredients. Instead of angel food cake or shortcake, we used buttery, rich pound cake. Instead of strawberries, here we are obviously using peaches. And for the topping - a typical whipped cream wouldn't do. We fancied it up a little by adding some cinnamon and vanilla, and using honey as the sweetener instead of the typical granular or confectioner sugar.
In our original recipe, we used raw peach slices, but I have noticed a slight allergy or intolerance to peaches (and apples and pears...) lately and I find that I don't experience that with cooked peaches. I know - weird. It's just my weird body - I don't make the rules, I just abide by them! The point I'm getting to is that you can feel free to skip the grilling step if you want to save some time and just use raw peach slices. The cool thing about the grilling though is that it develops the natural sugars in the peaches and also gives it a little extra flavor.
You ready for this deliciousness?! Let's get cookin'!
Peaches & Cream Shortcake
Servings: 1
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 sweet peach, peeled and sliced
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons honey + a little extra for drizzling at the end
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + a little extra for sprinkling at the end
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 slices frozen Sara Lee all-butter pound cake (defrosted of course)
3 large mint leaves, julienned
Pre-heat your grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.
Place your peach slices on the grill. Let cook for two and a half minutes on the first side.
Flip over and let cook for another two and a half minutes on the flip side. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Next, make the whipped cream. Place the cup of whipping cream in a mixing bowl. If you're using an emulsifier like I did, insert it into the cream and turn on the device. It should only take about 30 seconds for it to turn into whipped cream. If you're using a mixer, it could take a few minutes. Either way, you want to whip it (whip it good! Sorry, couldn't resist...) until you get stuff peaks in the cream.
Now add the 2 teaspoons of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and the vanilla. Whip for ten seconds or so to combine all of these ingredients with the cream. Set aside.
To assemble your shortcake, place the two slices of pound cake at the bottom of your serving bowl.
Arrange the cooled grilled peaches on top of the shortcake slices.
Add a dollop of whipped cream to the top of your peaches.
Sprinkle with a tad of cinnamon.
Then turn your honey bottle upside down and move it back and forth across the top of your dessert to lightly drizzle it with the honey.
Last, sprinkle the julienned mint leaves over the dessert. Now it's pretty and ready to serve! Salute!
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