If you ever need a reminder to live in the moment, look to a peach (or a nectarine or apricot, for that matter). There is a sweet spot, a moment of glory, when the sun has ripened stone fruits to perfect, plump sweetness: as you bite, the juices will run down your chin but the fruit will stay intact, coming perfectly and pleasingly away from the stone. If your stone fruit hits this moment, eat it unadulterated over the sink or with a napkin for chin dabbing. If, like me, the sweet spot often eludes you, here are two recipes: one that will make under-ripe fruit sing; the other to bring the over-ripe back from the brink.
Roasted stone fruit and brown sugar pavlova (pictured above)
Brown sugar-spiked meringues, topped with roasted stone fruits and a foil of not-too-sweet whipped honeyed Greek yoghurt. If you are not making the pavlova, try roasting under-ripe fruit (or fruit that refuses) to ripen in the same way to get the best out of it.
Vegans can make meringues using aquafaba (the water from a can of chickpeas). Here is a quick recipe: Whip 150g chickpea water with a pinch of salt until very stiff, add 150g of caster sugar and 1½ tsp cream of tartar, and whip on high until the sugar grains have dissolved. Use coconut yoghurt in place of dairy and agave in place of the honey.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Serves 8-10
For the meringue
4 eggs
150g golden caster sugar
50g soft brown sugar
Salt
For the fruit
2 peaches, stoned and quartered
4 apricots, stoned and halved
4 plums, stoned and halved
150g strawberries, halved
A few sprigs thyme, leaves picked
2 tbsp runny honey
4 bay leaves
Juice and zest of 2 limes
For the yoghurt
200ml thick Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp vanilla paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp honey
Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas 2. Separate the eggs and put the yolks to one side for another use. (You can use them for mayonnaise, custard or add them to whole eggs when you’re making scrambled eggs to make them extra rich.)
Make sure the bowl of your stand mixer is very clean, then whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Add the sugars and a pinch of salt and whisk on the highest setting for about five minutes, until all the grains of sugar have disappeared – rub the meringue with your fingertips; if you can still feel the grains, keep going.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and spoon the mixture into the middle of the tray, use the back of a spoon to make a circle roughly the size of a large dinner plate (about 24-26cm in diameter), then use the spoon to make it lower in the middle and a little higher around the sides. Once you have a shape you like, use your spoon to create waves and peaks in the meringue, which will look great when it is cooked. Bake for an hour, until golden on the outside and chewy on the inside.
Take the meringue out and turn up the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6. Toss the fruit in the thyme, honey, bay leaves, and the lime juice and zest, spread on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, until everything caramelises. Depending on the ripeness of your fruit, you may have to roast some of it longer. You are looking for the fruit to soften in the middle and to caramelise a little at the edges. Set aside to cool.
Mix the yoghurt with the vanilla and a couple tablespoons of the liquid from the roasting pan. Once everything is cool and you are ready to eat, pile the yoghurt on to the meringue, and top as artfully as you like with the fruit.
Apricot and almond crumble muffins
I use apricots because I love the combination of them and almonds, but peaches, plums or nectarines all work well, too. This recipe works with fruit that is both over- and under-ripe – the batter holds soft fruit in place, and the heat brings out the sweetness in any less-than ripe specimens.
Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Makes 12
6 apricots, halved
and stoned
1 tbsp caster sugar
150g unsalted butter or coconut oil, plus extra to grease
300g white spelt flour, plus 1 tsp
2 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
1 generous pinch salt
3 medium eggs
200g raw cane or demerara sugar
200ml milk (I use oat or unsweetened almond milk)
1½ tsp vanilla paste
Juice from 1 orange
For the topping
50g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
70g white spelt flour
40g raw cane or demerara sugar
Zest of 1 unwaxed orange
Salt and black pepper
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6, and grease a 12-hole muffin tray, or line with muffin cases.
Now prepare the fruit. Cut the apricots into quarters and toss in a bowl with the caster sugar. Set aside to macerate.
Next, make the crumble topping: put all the ingredients in a bowl and between with your fingers until the mixture resembles rough crumbs, then set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, pour it into a bowl and set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and salt, and use a balloon whisk to break up any lumps.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until they turn a smooth, light caramel colour. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you pour, then add the melted butter, the vanilla and the orange juice. Gently whisk the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
Fill the muffin cases or holes with the batter to just below the top, then press a few pieces of apricot into the top of each. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the muffins, making sure not to pack it too tightly on top of the apricot pieces, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are golden, the apricots are burnished and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the muffins to cool in the tray for about 15 minutes before serving.
