Peach Melba Ice Cream Cupcakes (GF option)

Raw raspberry coulis, amaretti cookie crusts, and glossy peaches

I served these on doilies (while not the most functional vehicle for ice cream, they are very cute). These measure 4” and I get them from Ebay.

Every summer, I look forward to ‘the Peach Melba moment,’ aka that moment in August when peaches and raspberries are both at their sweetest. Peach Melba is a dessert consisting of vanilla ice cream, raspberry coulis, sliced peaches, and often an almond cookie or tuile. I love the refreshing and sweet-tart-floral combination of raspberries, peaches, and vanilla ice cream so much that I make a Peach-Melba flavored dessert every summer. Last summer, it was a peach and raspberry slab pie (served warm with ice cream), but this year I'm keeping it more in line with the original.

I served these on my vintage Mosser Glass cake stands (which I love). You can find new ones here.

For this year's version, I got inspiration from vintage cookbooks (as I tend to do). I loved the little peach pie topped with a cherry, and the way it just nestled into the crust – it looked so cozy in there. The pot-bellied, dome shape of the peach is perfect (I’m having a bit of a thing for domed desserts right now), and the whimsical cherry really completed the look.

Furthermore, I love the texture of a crumbly-sandy crust with a raw peeled peach: squidgy and juicy. So, I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the dessert. While Peach Melba is normally an ice cream ball sitting in a pool of raspberry coulis, I loved the swirl in the angel food cake photo on the left, so I had the idea to make it a cake. However, I ultimately did want to make a classic Peach Melba this year, so I had to really think about incorporating all of these elements: crust, individual servings, ice cream, and a pot-bellied peach with a raspberry. I got there soon enough: a Peach Melba ice cream cupcake.

This Peach Melba has a crumbly almondy crust of Amaretti cookies and ice cream folded with a raw raspberry coulis (raspberries–like all fruits–change texture and flavor when cooked, I kept them raw for the extra floral lightness, gorgeous hot pink color, and less cooking). And the juicy, unctuous peach is skinned and coated with a nappage to keep it from browning.

Truthfully, I hesitated to publish this recipe. I wondered if it was too easy or too semi-homemade from my other recipes, but Théo encouraged me to go along with it, saying it was too delicious to skip (the taste test was the best part of his day)! And after all, it’s the last days of summer. Don’t we all want something that takes under an hour of active time, yet leads to eye-catching and delicious results?

If you do want to make your own ice cream and turn on your oven for more extended periods of time, I published a blueberry crisp and corn ice cream recipe this month, and you can find my tiramisu ice cream sandwich recipe, and my s’mores ice cream cake recipe in the archives!

Recipe:
Makes 6 Peach Melba Ice Cream Cupcakes