Peach Melba Recipe

Ice Cream Dessert Sundae

Although this Peach Melba recipe is very easy to put together, it is such an impressive combination of flavors and colors that it would make an elegant enough French dessert to offer dinner guests. Of course, nothing is to stop you from enjoying this ice cream sundae in the middle of the afternoon with the kids either.

Peach Melba was first prepared by the French culinary great, Auguste Escoffier (1846 - 1935). He named the dish after Nellie Melba, a very successful Australian opera singer of the 19th and early 20th century. Escoffier was not only an inventive chef, he was also quite creative in naming his dishes. Here is just a small sampling of some of the peach desserts that are named and described in his masterpiece on French cuisine, Le Guide Culinaire.

Pêches Dame-Blanche - Poached peaches, vanilla ice cream, thinly sliced pineapple, kirsch, maraschino liqueur, and whipped cream.

Pêches Eugénie - Fresh peaches, strawberries, kirsch, maraschino liqueur, and Champagne sabayon.

Pêches Sultane - Poached peaches, pistachio ice cream, rose syrup, topped with spun sugar.

Pêches Trianon - Peeled and sugared peaches, vanilla mousse, macaroon pieces imbibed in liqueur, strawberry puree.

Peach Melba Recipe Notes

This is the sort of recipe you can make harder or easier, depending on how much time you have.

• You can poach fresh peaches yourself or use canned.
• You can make the ice cream yourself or use store bought (buy the best you can afford).
• Do try to make the whipped cream yourself - it's so much better and only takes a few minutes.
• As for the sauce, I hope you will try this raspberry sauce recipe. It is truly luscious and very easy to put together, especially if you use frozen raspberries.

Elegant Glassware

Ice cream sundaes make great desserts, especially if you do not have a lot of time to prepare something special.
Gelato Dessert Bowls,
by the Italian glassware company Bormioli Rocco, are just what is needed to set your sundaes apart from the crowd.

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