With summer in its last stretch, it’s worth making a rush on the end-of-season stone fruit so that you and your family can savour the sweet and juicy freshness of peaches, plums, and nectarines for a few more weeks.
While versatile stone fruit are a taste sensation in savoury dishes, combined with cheeses and added as hero ingredients to summer salads, they are probably most beloved in delectable bakes and desserts. After all, who can resist a slice of a perfect plum tart with morning coffee, a homemade peach ice cream on a hot afternoon and a decadent pavlova topped with fresh nectarine slices to round off the evening braai?
Social media food trends like #nevermissadessert have highlighted the simple joy of homemade desserts. Whether you are celebrating a good day or aiming to cheer yourself up on a bad day, a delicious dessert can boost happiness. In an era of dessert obsession, we’ve also embraced the idea that dessert can be a stand-alone meal!
To help you keep up with the #nevermissadessert trend, here are a few irresistible stone fruit dessert recipes compiled by Juicy Delicious featuring the culinary talents of some of South Africa’s celebrated food bloggers and cookbook authors, Zola Nene, Jenny Morris, Justine Drake, Sam Linsell, Angie Batis Durrant and Teresa Ulyate.
Plums are showstoppers!
With juicy flesh, sweet and tart flavours and brilliant jewel colours, plum desserts reign supreme and pair sumptuously with yummy flavours such as vanilla, honey and almonds. Ideal for summer baking, plums can also be sliced and frozen or easily stewed and bottled so that you have a stash throughout the year.
Honey Plum Dessert Cake by Jenny Morris
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sifted cake flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsps baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 100ml melted butter
- 125ml warm milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- 600g stoned sliced plums tossed in 1 tablespoon of honey
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C degrees
- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl and stir together.
- In another bowl whisk together the butter, milk, vanilla, and lastly whisk in the eggs and orange zest.
- Stir the flour into the wet ingredients.
- Arrange the plums into the base of a buttered pie dish.
- Spoon over the batter and bake for 25-30minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Five minutes before the cake is ready, melt the honey and butter together and stir until combined.
- Remove the cake from the oven and pour over the hot honey butter mixture, while the cake is hot.
Plum and Almond Tart by Zola Nene
Ingredients
For the plums:
- 6 ripe plums, halved
- 2 Tbsp castor sugar
- ½ cup water
For the tart:
- ½ cup castor sugar
- 200g butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup self-raising flour
- 1 ½ cups ground almonds
For the vanilla Yoghurt (optional):
- 500g plain yoghurt
- 2 Tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Place the plums, cut side up, into a roasting dish, then sprinkle with sugar and water.
- Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes until the plums are tender
- Spray a 24cm loose bottom fluted tart tin.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, a little at a time.
- Mix together the flour and almonds, then fold into the wet ingredients.
- Transfer mixture into the tin then arrange the plums on top, cut side up.
- Bake tart for 45 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then remove tart from the tin and leave to cool completely.
- Mix together the yoghurt, icing sugar and vanilla then serve with the tart, dusted with icing sugar.
Roasted Plum Eton Mess with Almonds by Sam Linsell
- Use ripe plus that are still a little firm for this recipe. They are tart, so adjust the amount of meringues you add based on sweet preferences or add a little more icing sugar to the cream.
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 5 ripe plums (still firm), laved
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 250 ml cream 1 cup
- 1 Tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 40 gms toasted almond flakes (or nibs) + extra for decorating
- 120 – 140 gm meringues, crumbled (approx. 6 medium)
Method
- Roast the plums in advance and allow to cool before assembling and serving.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Cut the plums in half and place on a small baking tray and sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon.
- Bake for 18 – 20 minutes until starting to release their juices but still firm. Allow to cool completely in the fridge or freezer.
- Whip the cream until a medium-firm peaks. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Add the crushed up meringues, and toasted almonds and fold this through the cream mixture.
- Cut the plums into small pieces and gently fold them with the juice through the cream and meringue. Reserve one of the plums to slice as garnish for the dessert (or use raw plum slices).
- Spoon this mixture into individual serving glasses and garnish with the plum slices and toasted almonds. Serve immediately or set aside in the fridge until you are ready.
Plum and Amaretto Tiramisu by Angie Batis Durrant
- Created by Angie Batis Durrant from My Lucky Pony
- Makes 4 servings depending on the glass
Ingredients
- About 6/7 fresh plums
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tub of Mascarpone cheese – room temp
- 1 cup or 250 mls whipping cream – must be cold
- ±8 finger biscuits
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur – optional
Method
- Make the plum syrup by adding the 1 cup sugar & 1 cup water to a pot. Then chop up 4 plums and add them to this mixture. Cook on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved & the plums are a bit soft. Then add this to a blender and blend until smooth. Cool in the fridge.
- In a mixing bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Then add the cooled plum syrup and mascarpone before mixing gently using a spatula until nice & smooth.
- Take the finger biscuits & cut them in half, then cut those halves in half again, so you have mini finger biscuits
- In a small pot add the 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, boil on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and add the amaretto. Let it cool slightly.
- Lightly dip each mini finger biscuit into this syrup. Set aside.
- In individual glasses or bowls add a dollop of the cream/plum mixture. Then add a layer of dipped biscuits & a few chopped up fresh plum pieces. Repeat this process twice.
- Add some fresh plum slices to the top and serve
Fresh takes on old favourites
Traditional desserts are very much on trend but there’s nothing wrong with giving them a contemporary flair:
Peach & Amasi Ice Cream by Zola Nene
Ingredients:
- 4 peaches, chopped
- 4 Tbsps sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tin sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup Amasi
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 250ml fresh cream, whipped
Method
- Place peaches, sugar and water into a saucepan then cook over medium heat until the peaches soften.
- Remove from the heat, then purée until smooth, set aside to cool.
- Mix together the condensed milk, amasi and vanilla until well combined.
- Stir in the whipped cream and half of the chilled peach purée, then pour into a freezer-safe dish.
- Drizzle the remaining purée onto the ice cream, then swirl with a knife. Cover and freeze until set. Scoop and serve.
Delicious desserts for any time of day
These stand-alone treats give you points for including vitamin-rich fruit when you need to quickly satisfy your sweet tooth:
Nectarine & White Chocolate Yoghurt Lollies by Teresa Ulyate
Ingredients
- 6 ice lolly moulds
- 250 g ripe nectarines (about 2)
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) water
- 10 ml (2 tsp) light muscovado sugar
- 300 ml full cream plain yoghurt
- 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) honey
- 150 g white chocolate, melted (optional)
Method
- Chop the nectarines into small chunks, discarding the stones. Place the fruit, water and sugar in a small pot and stir over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes or until the fruit has softened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a food processor (or use a stick blender) and process into a puree. If you don’t have a blender you can mash the fruit by hand. Set aside.
- Place the yoghurt, vanilla and honey in a separate bowl and mix well to combine. Add the nectarine puree and gently swirl together once or twice so that streaks remain in the mixture.
- Spoon the mixture into the lolly moulds. Transfer to the freezer and leave for approximately 5 hours or overnight until frozen solid. Once frozen run a little hot water over the outside of each mould to help loosen the lolly, remove and serve.
Optional serving suggestion – place the melted white chocolate in a glass and dip each nectarine lolly in halfway to coat. Allow to set, then serve.
For more inspiration follow @juicydelicioussa on Instagram or visit www.juicydelicious.co.za
