With this post we embark on the week of my birthday. It will be a week of decadence, I can assure you (because I’m never decadent otherwise). I’ve already got a massage scheduled.
This is turning out to be the perfect summer for peaches, and while I still enjoy a plain peach just as much, there’s no fruit better for dessert, in my opinion (except blueberries in a pie, coming up soon!).
Peaches are my absolute favorite fruit. I think part of it is because you can only get them in the summertime. I went to high school for two years near Kline, South Carolina, which is famous for its peaches, and I always looked forward to getting one of those bushel baskets full of them.
So all these peach desserts all over the Internet lately have been driving me crazy! I couldn’t decide which one to make first. So I combined the first part of Peaches Poached in Prosecco with Homemade Amaretti and the last part of Grilled Peaches with Bourbon Vanilla Whipped Cream.
I think Prosecco-Poached Peaches with Bourbon Vanilla Whipped Cream is the best of both worlds.
Prosecco-Poached Peaches with Bourbon Vanilla Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- 4 freestone peaches
- 1 bottle Prosecco
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- pinch sea salt
Bourbon Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp bourbon or to taste, but don’t get carried away
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Cut an X into the bottom of each peach and drop into boiling water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Drain peaches and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, pour 3/4 of the bottle of Prosecco into the same (now empty) saucepan. Add sugar, lemon juice, orange extract, and salt. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Slip the peaches out of their skins and cut into halves or quarters, discarding pits. Add to simmering Prosecco and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then chill 4 hours or overnight.
- With an electric mixer, whip cream on high, gradually adding sugar, vanilla, and bourbon as cream starts to thicken. Continue to beat until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve with Prosecco-Poached Peaches.
- Divide Prosecco between two champagne glasses and fill with leftover chilled cooking liquid.
I’m not embarrassed to admit I didn’t stop there. My mom was visiting, and we had made her favorite dessert, Quinoa Brownies. (We also happened to have two cartons of ice cream in the freezer.) I’ve been making these brownies for years, and they deserve a post all their own. However, since photos don’t lie, I’m going to go ahead and post them.
Quinoa Brownies
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/3 cup milk whole is best
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup butter melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 cups white or cane sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave on burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 8-inch round or square cake pans (I used glass). Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.
- Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups of cooked quinoa and the butter, and continue to blend until smooth.
- Whisk together sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the contents of the blender and mix well. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and bake on the center oven rack for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and cool completely in the pan before serving.
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.
[…] these as options, and to be open to trying them. One of my long-time favorite desserts is Quinoa Brownies, which are naturally gluten-free, as they use quinoa instead of […]
[…] But peaches. […]