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Peach Melba served in a glass bowl with vanilla ice cream, raspberry sauce, and toasted almonds.

Peach Melba Recipe

Smooth Peach Melba with bright raspberry scent and cool peaches brings freshness after dinner, combining sweetness and lightness in every spoonful.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian, French
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

Peaches

  • 1 ½ L cold water
  • 450 g caster sugar – superfine sugar
  • ½ vanilla pod – split open lengthwise
  • Thinly peeled rind of ⅔ of a lemon
  • 6 just ripe peaches

Raspberry Coulis

  • 250 g raspberries – fresh or frozen
  • juice of 1 orange
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar – superfine sugar

Instructions

Peaches

  1. Pour the cold water into a saucepan. Add the caster sugar, vanilla pod, and lemon rind. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
  2. Gently add the washed peaches to the syrup. Bring back to a gentle simmer and poach the peaches for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove the peaches from the heat and transfer them, along with the syrup, to a bowl. Let them cool, then refrigerate until about 10 minutes before serving.

Raspberry Coulis

  1. Blend the orange juice, lemon juice, caster sugar, and raspberries into a smooth purée.
  2. Strain the raspberry coulis into a bowl and set aside.

To Assemble

  1. Just before serving, lift the peaches from the syrup and peel them carefully. You can keep them whole or halve them to remove the pit.
  2. Place a few scoops of vanilla ice cream in a deep serving dish. Arrange the peeled peaches on top and spoon the raspberry coulis over them.
  3. Sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds and a dusting of icing sugar.
  4. You can also serve the Peach Melba in individual bowls.
  5. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

I usually prepare the peaches the day before so they have time to absorb the syrup and chill properly before serving.

Once the peaches are poached, don’t throw away the syrup. Return it to the pan and simmer gently until reduced by half. The thickened syrup makes a delicious topping for ice cream, pancakes, or cakes.