Char-Grilled Peaches with Cold Vanilla Cream and Brown Butter Honey

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Summer peaches get all the attention here: halved, brushed with butter and brown sugar, and laid cut-side down on a hot grill until the sugars blister into deep char lines and the fruit slumps into its own syrup. They're served warm against a spoonful of cold, barely sweet vanilla crème fraîche cream, finished with nutty brown butter honey, toasted almonds and flaky salt. No crust, no batter, no ice cream machine — just fruit, fire and cream, which is exactly the point.

Ingredients

• 4 large firm-ripe freestone peaches
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• Neutral oil, for the grill grates

• 3/4 cup cold heavy cream
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche or full-fat sour cream, cold
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste)
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt

• 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 6 fresh basil or mint leaves, torn
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Make the cream first so it can chill: in a medium bowl, combine the cold heavy cream, crème fraîche, powdered sugar, vanilla seeds and a pinch of salt. Whisk by hand or with a mixer on medium just until it holds soft, droopy peaks, about 1 to 2 minutes — stop while it still slides off the whisk. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to 24 hours.
2. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until pale gold and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Tip them onto a plate immediately so they stop cooking.
3. Make the brown butter honey: melt the 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling constantly, until the foam subsides and the milk solids at the bottom turn deep amber and smell nutty, 3 to 5 minutes. Pull it off the heat and immediately whisk in the honey, lemon juice, cinnamon if using, and a pinch of flaky salt. Set aside somewhere warm; it should stay pourable.
4. Heat a gas grill to medium-high (about 425 to 450°F) with the lid down, or build a charcoal fire and let it burn to an even bed of gray coals. Scrape the grates clean, then wipe them with an oiled paper towel held in tongs. A clean, hot, oiled grate is the difference between char marks and shredded fruit.
5. Halve the peaches along the natural seam and twist the halves apart; pry out the pits. Brush the cut faces and skins with the melted butter, then press the cut faces into the brown sugar mixed with a pinch of fine salt so they carry a thin, even coating.
6. Lay the peaches cut-side down over direct heat and close the lid. Do not touch them for 3 to 4 minutes — lift one edge with a thin spatula to check; you want dark, glossy grill marks and edges that look caramelized rather than dry.
7. Flip the halves skin-side down, close the lid, and grill 3 to 5 more minutes, until the fruit is heated through and a paring knife slides into the thickest part with just slight resistance. Ripe peaches go fast; firmer ones may need 2 extra minutes. Transfer cut-side up to a platter and let them rest 3 minutes so the juices settle.
8. Spoon a generous pool of the cold vanilla cream onto each plate or into shallow bowls. Set two warm peach halves on top, cut-side up, and spoon a little of the juice from the platter over them.
9. Drizzle the warm brown butter honey over the peaches and cream, scatter with toasted almonds and torn basil, and finish with a small pinch of flaky salt. Serve right away, while the fruit is warm and the cream is still cold.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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