Poached Peaches with Raspberry Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream (Pêches Melba)
Known in French as Pêches Melba, this French bistro classic is a cup-held dessert of syrup-poached peaches served atop vanilla ice cream, all doused with a sweet raspberry coulis.
It’s a breeze to recreate at home, and is naturally best made at the height of summer, when peaches are at their sweetest, juiciest peak. Think of Pêches Melba as France’s version of peaches and cream—but with that little extra je ne sais quoi.
The Origin of this Dessert
This Classic French dessert of Pêches Melba was invented in 1892 in London by renowned French Chef Auguste Escoffier. He created this dessert for a dinner in honor of Australian soprano Nellie Melba, who was in town to sing Wagner’s opera Lohengrin at Covent Garden.
He used an ice sculpture of a swan (which is featured in the Lohengrin opera). The swan carried peaches which rested on a bed of vanilla ice cream, topped with spun sugar.
Later, in 1900, for the opening of the Carlton Hotel in London where he was head chef, Escoffier added a simplified version of Pêches Melba on his menu. He skipped the ice swan and simply topped the peaches with raspberry purée. The iconic dessert was born.
Cooking notes:
- Use fresh seasonal peaches (canned peaches are almost always too sweet, unless they are homemade.). Choose ripe, tender peaches and ideally yellow, instead of white, as they have a better acidity which contrasts nicely against the creaminess of the ice cream. Firm ripe nectarines are also acceptable.
- Fresh or frozen raspberries can both be used, as they are meant to be reduced in a puree. If you do use frozen raspberries, make sure you thaw and drain them well before hand.
- Homemade or a good quality store-bought vanilla ice cream work well here.
- Some “mainstream” restaurants will add whipped cream on top, but I think this is de trop (too much). A sprinkle of slivered almonds on top and a few fresh basil leaves are however acceptable in my books (though the original recipe doesn’t call for it.).
I hope you’ll love this Pêches Melba recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know how it turned out!
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This article was first posted on August 08, 2017 and updated on August 19, 2020.
- Who: Poached Peache · Raspberry Sauce
