delicious UK – April 2018

32 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

PEACH MELBA
AustralianoperasingerDameNellieMelba(shepopsup
inDownton Abbey)enjoyedafriendshipwithlegendarychef
Escoffierandduringthelate1800shecreatedanumberof
dishesinhername.Twoarestillwellknowntoday–melba
toastandthefamouspeachmelba.
Escoffier was protective of the simplicity of his poached
peaches with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream,
declaringthat“anyvariationonthisreciperuinsthe
delicatebalanceofitstaste”.Wehopehe’llforgiveusfor
putting the peaches into a cake in our twist on peach melba
–wethinkitworksbeautifully.Tinnedpeachesgetround
theseasonalityissueandgiveanodtotheretronatureof
this pudding – everyone surely remembers some version
of it from childhood. Eat the cake warm as a pudding with
the raspberry sauce and ice cream, or enjoy it on its own
at room temperature for afternoon tea.

THE TWIST RECIPE

Peachcakewithraspberry

sauceandicecream

SERVES 10. HANDS-ON TIME 30 MIN,

OVEN TIME 80 MIN, PLUS COOLING

MAKE

AHEAD

Thecakeisbestontheday

it’s made. The raspberry

saucewillkeepinthefridge

in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

FOR THE CAKE

• 2 x 400g tins peach segments
  in syrup


• 225g unsalted butter, plus extra
  for greasing, well softened


• 200g caster sugar


• 3mediumfree-rangeeggs, beaten


• Grated zest 1 lemon
  •250gplainflour


• 1½ tsp baking powder


• 3tbspsinglecream


• 3 tbsp peach or apricot jam,
  warmed and sieved, to glaze


• Vanilla ice cream to serve

FORTHE RASPBERRY SAUCE

•400gfrozenraspberries

•3-4tbspicingsugar(ortotaste)

• 3 tbsp raspberry liqueur (optional;
  you can also just use water)


• Squeeze lemon juice

YOU’LLALSO NEED...

•20cmloose-bottomedcaketin,

greased, the base lined with

non-stick baking paper

1 Forthecake,heattheovento

180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Drain the

peach segments, then blot dry with

plenty of kitchen paper. Arrange the

best looking segments (about half)

inthebaseofthecaketininasingle

layer – they should be packed close

but not touching. Roughly chop the

remaining segments into thirds.

2 In a large bowl, using an electric

hand mixer, cream the butter and

sugaruntillightandfluffy.Addthe

eggs in 3 batches, beating well after

each addition, then add the lemon

zest.Inaseparatemixingbowl,mix

theflourandbakingpowderwith

apinchofsaltthen,usingalarge

metalspoon(andinthreegoes)fold

into the cake batter. Fold in the

cream, then the chopped peaches.

3 Carefullyspoonthecakemixture

overthepeachesinthepreparedtin,

making sure you don’t spoil the

patternonthebottom.Smooththe

topofthemixture,thenbakefor

40 minutes. Turn the oven down to

160°C/140°C fan/gas 3 and bake for

another40minutesuntilthetopis

golden and a skewer pushed into the

centre comes out clean. Leave to

coolinthetinfor10minutes,then

invertthecakeontoawirerack(so

the peaches are now at the top). The

topofthecakewilllookpalebut

don’t worry – it will be glazed later.

Leaveto cool completely.

4 While the cake is cooling, make the

raspberry sauce. Put the raspberries,

icing sugar, liqueur/water and lemon

juiceinasaucepan,addasplashof

water, then heat gently until just

simmering. Stir the mixture to break

up the raspberries, then simmer for

5 minutes or until all the fruit has

broken down. Taste for balance –

you may want to add a little extra

sugar, lemon juice or liqueur. When

you’re happy, push the mixture

through a sieve, pressing it through

firmly with a wooden spoon so only

theseeds and as little fruit as

possibleareleftinthesieve(discard

them).Setthesauceasideuntil

ready to serve (see Make Ahead).

5 Oncethecakehascooled,heatthe

grill to medium-high. Brush the jam

alloverthetopofthecakesoit’s

thicklyglazed.Putitonabaking

trayandgrilluntilthejambubbles

and begins to caramelise. Depending

on which jam you’re using, you may

need to add a sprinkle of caster

sugarandgrillforalittlelonger

to get a really golden caramelised

finish.Onceyou’rehappywiththe

colour, remove the cake from the

grill and either serve immediately

withvanilla ice cream and the

raspberry sauce or keep in an

airtight container at room

temperatureuntilreadytocut(see

Make Ahead) later the same day.

PER SERVING478kcals, 21.9g fat

(13.1g saturated), 6.1g protein,

61g carbs (41.6g sugars), 0.3g salt,

3.3g fibre

HITTHE HIGH NOTES

Peach cake with

raspberry sauce

and ice cream