Michelle Darmody: What to cook with stone fruit like peaches and plums

Plum and puff pastry parcels

Stone fruits are beginning to come down in price as they are ripening across Europe. They have far less to travel to reach our kitchens this time of year. The shorter transport journey also means the fruit has had a chance to ripen for much longer on the branches of a tree, in the warm sunshine, rather than in cold storage. The fruit is juicer and tastier than in other months, making it all the better to bake with.

Apricots pair well with the rosewater as the two fragrant, floral flavours complement each other well. If the apricots are still a little tart you can add a little more honey. When they are fully ripe the stone should come away from the flesh very easily. 

You can also tell if they are fresh in the shop by very gently pressing the soft, velvety skin. It should have a little give in it and the smell is beautifully sweet when they are just ripe.

When making the apple and peach cake you can cover it with foil for the last twenty minutes of baking if the slices of fruit on top are getting too brown. You want them a nice golden colour, so they soften and caramelise but not so they become chewy.

Peaches, nectarines, plums cherries and apricots are all related. You can substitute one for the other in any of these recipes.

Apple and peach cake

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

The perfect summer treat.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 225g soft butter

• 210g soft muscovado sugar

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

• 225g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp baking powder, sieved

• 150g slivered almonds

• 100g grated apple and 150g of apple slices

• 150g fresh peaches, sliced

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 9-inch round spring-form or loose-base tin with parchment.

2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs with a spatula making sure to mix completely. Add in the flour and baking powder and mix them well.

3. Stir the slivered almonds and the grated apple into the batter and scoop it into the prepared tin. Arrange the apple and peach slices on top. Lightly press them down.

4. Bake for about an hour, until baked through.

5. Once cool enough to handle place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Plum and puff pastry parcels

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Peaches, nectarines, plums cherries and apricots are all related so feel free to substitute one for the other.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 egg, separated

• 4 tbsp ground almonds

• 1 tbsp soft butter

• 2 tbsp soft muscovado sugar

• 600g plums, stones removed and halved

• 2 sheets of puff pastry

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C.

2. Mix the egg yolk with the ground almonds and butter. Stir in 1 tbs of the sugar.

3. Spread your puff pastry sheets out and cut each one into 4 squares.

4. Spread a scoop of the ground almond mixture onto the centre of each pastry square. Place some plums, skin side down, on top of the almond.

5. Sprinkle with a little muscovado sugar and pinch the pastry up at the sides until you have a neat parcel.

6. Repeat this with the others. Place each parcel into the fridge as you do the next one, so the pastry does not get too warm.

7. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg white and sprinkle with the remaining muscovado sugar.

8. Heat two large flat baking trays in the oven and gently slip the parcels onto them. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden.

9. Once cool enough to handle place on a wire rack to cool completely.