Charred Brown Sugar Peaches with Cold Vanilla Cream

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Summer peaches split, brushed with brown sugar butter and grilled until the cut faces caramelize into something close to candy while the centers stay warm and juicy. They go into shallow bowls with a spoonful of cold vanilla crème fraîche cream, the syrup that collects in the pan, toasted almonds and a pinch of flaky salt. Nothing here is baked, layered or frosted — the fruit is the dessert, and the only real technique is knowing when to pull it off the grate.

Ingredients

• 4 large firm-ripe freestone peaches (about 1 3/4 lb)
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, for the grates

• 3/4 cup heavy cream, well chilled
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche, chilled
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• flaky sea salt
• 6 small basil or mint leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. Toast the almonds first: spread the sliced almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking often, for 3 to 4 minutes until golden and fragrant. Tip onto a plate immediately — they scorch fast in a hot pan. Set aside.
2. Whip the cream: in a chilled bowl, combine the heavy cream, crème fraîche, powdered sugar, vanilla and a pinch of fine salt. Whisk by hand or with a mixer on medium just until the cream holds soft, floppy peaks, about 1 to 2 minutes with a mixer. It should mound on a spoon but still look glossy — stop early, since crème fraîche thickens further as it sits. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
3. Make the glaze: melt the butter in a small saucepan or the microwave, then stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, pinch of fine salt and lemon juice until the sugar is mostly dissolved into a loose syrup. Keep it warm and pourable.
4. Heat a gas grill to medium-high (about 450°F) or light a charcoal grill and let the coals burn to an even glow with a light ash coat. Scrape the grates clean, then wipe them with a paper towel dipped in neutral oil held with tongs. Clean, oiled grates are the difference between grill marks and shredded fruit.
5. Halve the peaches along the natural seam and twist out the pits. Blot the cut faces dry with a paper towel, then brush them generously with the brown sugar glaze.
6. Place the peaches cut side down over direct heat and grill undisturbed for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cut faces are deeply caramelized with clear grill marks and the fruit releases easily when nudged with tongs. Resist moving them early.
7. Flip the peaches cut side up, brush the cut faces again with glaze, and move them to a cooler part of the grill (or reduce the heat to medium). Cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, until a paring knife slides into the thickest part with almost no resistance but the halves still hold their shape.
8. Transfer the peaches cut side up to a rimmed platter or shallow baking dish. Pour any remaining glaze plus the juices that pool on the platter into the small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly syrupy and coating the back of a spoon.
9. Serve warm: set two peach halves in each shallow bowl, spoon a generous dollop of the cold vanilla cream alongside (not on top, so it stays cold), and drizzle the warm pan syrup over the fruit. Scatter with toasted almonds, a small pinch of flaky salt and a few basil or mint leaves if using. Eat right away, while the temperature contrast is the whole point.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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