Peach bellinis make a tasty summer dessert

Sweet Treats

Two of my favourite summertime treats are peach bellinis and spoonful after spoonful of fruity sorbet. I love trying different flavoured sorbets; I remember having a pink champagne flavoured one from my 21st birthday.

On holidays in Spain a few years ago, I had the most wonderful dessert of cava poured over lemon sorbet. It was the fanciest ice-cream soda float I have ever tried and since then I’ve wanted to create a dessert inspired by the cava sorbet float. This sorbet is inspired those wonderful desserts and my favourite cocktail – peach bellinis.

Serve this as a grown up dessert at summer barbecues and special occasions.

For a non-alcoholic alternative, use white grape shloer or lemonade in place of the cava.

The recipe is best used with ripe peaches. Use mountain peaches if they are in season.

You can always use good quality tinned peaches if you fancy this dessert in the winter months.

You will need:

  • 4 very ripe peaches or 2 cans of peaches
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 3 tbsp brandy or chambord raspberry liqueur
  • 150ml medium dry cava or prosecco

Chill the cava or prosecco for a few hours before using.

Place the sugar in a bowl, pour the brandy over the sugar, give it a stir and leave to the side. Peel the skin from the peaches and remove the flesh from the stone. Place the flesh from the peaches into the bowl with the sugar and brandy, and with a hand held blender or food processor, blitz until smooth.

Turn on the ice-cream maker before pouring in the peach puree so that it doesn’t freeze and stick to the bowl. Pour the peach puree through the top of the lid and churn for 20 minutes. Pop open the cava or prosecco and carefully pour into a measuring jug.

Scrape into a plastic container and then gently fold in the measured cava until everything is blended. Freeze until solid. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving to soften.

If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, freeze the sorbet in a plastic container for one hour.

By then it will have started to freeze around the edges.

Mash the sorbet up into the liquid centre with a fork and return to the freezer. Repeat every one to two hours until soft set and then freeze until solid.

Scoop into sundae glasses or wide champagne glasses if you have any.