Baked Flat Peaches with Toasted Hazelnuts and Mascarpone

Yes, this simple dessert is absolutely as delicious as it looks. It is a perfect spring and summer dish to end a lovely dinner party or BBQ.

What makes it even more brilliant is that it is such an easy recipe and pretty quick too. Simply bake the peaches, and toast the hazelnuts in some coconut sugar, then top with mascarpone and a drizzle of honey. I wanted to create something with all the textures - juicy and chewy, soft and creamy and sweet and crunchy. The combination is just divine. You don’t need to use flat peaches, you could use any stone fruit for a similar effect. It’s also a good dessert to make if you need something simple and gluten free!

SERVES: 4

TOTAL PREP AND COOKING TIME: 25 minutes

SEASON: Spring and Summer

INGREDIENTS:

6 ripe flat peaches (or stone fruit of choice)

250g of mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup hazelnuts

3 tbsp coconut sugar (or brown Demerara sugar)

Butter for cooking

Drizzle of honey

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat the fan oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Slice the peaches in half width-ways and delicately remove the stones, then leave to one side.

3. Add two generous knobs of butter on top of the greaseproof paper and place in the oven for a minute or so until it is melted.

4. Remove from the oven and spread the butter over the sheet, then add a dusting of the coconut sugar (1 generous tablespoon) to the melted butter before placing the peaches flesh-side down on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until gooey.

5. While the peaches are baking, roughly chop the hazelnuts and place them in a dry frying pan over a very low heat. Sprinkle in another 2 tbsp of coconut sugar and mix with the nuts using a wooden spoon. Toast them in the pan for a few minutes, moving and turning them frequently to avoid them burning. Remove from the heat.

6. Serve the peaches with mascarpone cheese, the hazelnuts, and a drizzle of honey (as pictured).