VIRGIN TIPSTEAMED FRUIT WITH VANILLA CREAM
I love this recipe: the combination of the fruit, juices and spices mingled together with a simple vanilla cream is perfect in the warmer months and makes a refreshing dessert. If you have fruit you need to use up you can cook and freeze it in advance and then make the vanilla cream when you’re ready to serve. Try making this with pears, rhubarb or peaches too.
READY IN 35 MINUTES
SERVES 4
2 nectarines
4 apricots
4 plums
1 tbsp honey
1 vanilla pod
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
300ml crème fraîche
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4.
2. Remove the stones from the fruit and cut into halves or quarters depending on their size – you want them all to be roughly the same size. Put them into an oven dish, making sure it’s a fairly snug fit, and drizzle with the honey.
3. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and put them aside for later. Put the pod, star anise, bay leaf and cinnamon stick in with the fruit and cover the dish tightly with foil.
4. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, basting with the spiced juices halfway through (add a splash of water if the dish looks too dry). Meanwhile, beat the vanilla seeds into the crème fraîche.
5. Once cooked, discard the whole spices and divide the cooked fruit and juices into four bowls. Serve with the vanilla cream.
VIRGIN TIP
Make sure the fruit is really ripe otherwise this will be sour. If it needs a little help in that department, add some extra honey or a sprinkling of vanilla sugar.