a greener, icier take on peaches and cream
the heatwave made me do it
the past week has been hot in berlin. the kind of hot that i tend to complain about because my body starts to act out and i have a hard time sleeping when the evening air remains heavy and humid, like a warm bath (literally because i sweat so much lol) that i didn’t ask for or need. the only good thing to come out of this summer heatwave was a compulsion to eat fruit and only fruit for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
this take on peaches and cream was inspired by my heat-driven greed for all the sweetest stone fruits (peaches and nectarines being especially favored) and an adaptation of pastry genius natasha pickowicz’ greens granita (side bar: if you have some experience baking and interest in expanding your knowledge with creative, produce-focused recipes and thoughtful insights, i highly recommend her cookbook more than cake).
if you have access to ripe, sweet summer fruit (preferably stone fruits like cherries, peaches and nectarines, apricots or even plums) and want to dress it up a little instead of devouring it over the sink (as is my preference more often than not tbh), this is the dessert, snack or heatwave lunch of your dreams.
this simple recipe has just three components: the best stone fruit you can find, a lightly sweetened and super soft sour cream whip, and a heap of snowy granita. the granita is the key to peak refreshment and offers a tart balance to the sweet fruit and velvety cream.
after blending your green granita ingredients (or sub in your favorite fresh pressed green juice as natasha’s original recipe suggests), you have a few options when it comes to making it, the method you choose will depend on your fruit to mouth timeline and the “gear” you have in your kitchen.
traditional (least amount of time and gear, more physical effort): pre-freeze a shallow baking dish or container, add green juice and freeze, then scrape with a fork every 30 minutes or so (it will probably need 2-3 scraping sessions) until you have a fluffy, icy mound of granita.
food processor (longer time and more gear, less physical effort, results in a finer, more powdery granita): add green juice to an ice cube tray and freeze until frozen solid (at least 4 hours), then set up your food processor with a fine grater attachment or the regular blade, finely grate or pulse the ice cubes into a fine powder.
microplane (longer time and some gear, more physical effort, frozen fingers): the hack heard round the world this summer takes frozen fruit and shaves it with a microplane to make a sort of shaved ice that everyone seems to love. while it technically works for this recipe (freeze the green juice in an ice cube tray until solid then microplane directly over the bowl of fruit and whip before serving), when i tested it out i found that it took a long time to get a small amount of granita and holding the frozen cube hurt my fingers (lol) so it’s not my personal recommendation for this particular recipe but rather an idea that could be employed if you’re stubborn and just want to.
serves 4
for the green granita, can be made and frozen up to 2 weeks in advance (substitute: green juice from a juice shop or grocery store)
50 grams granulated sugar (substitute: brown sugar)
50 grams water
1 green apple
2 persian cucumbers
30 grams mint and basil (it doesn’t have to be half-half here, use what you have)
1 small lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
for the sour cream whip
100 grams whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
100 grams sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
to serve
4 ripe peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums or apricots
place a shallow dish into the freezer. add sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat. once the sugar is completely melted and no longer visible, remove from heat and let cool.
core and roughly chop apple. roughly chop cucumber. remove stems from mint and basil so you have only the leaves. add apple, cucumber, mint, basil, juice from half the lemon, salt and half the cooled simple syrup to a blender and blend to a smooth green liquid. taste and add more lemon juice, simple syrup or salt as needed; it should taste vibrant, slightly sweet, and tangy.
transfer the green juice to the pre-chilled shallow dish and freeze for 30 minutes. after 30 minutes, use a fork and a long, swift motion to scrape the mixture. repeat the freezing and scraping (likely twice more) until the entire mixture is a fluffy, icy granita. keep in the freezer while you finish the rest of the prep.
whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar with an electric hand mixer with beaters (or by hand with a whisk) to medium peaks; it should be soft and loose but not too runny. gently fold in the sour cream and salt with a rubber spatula.
slice your chosen stone fruits in half, then remove the pits. roughly chop into large, just barely still bite-size pieces and split evenly amongst 4 serving bowls. top each bowl of fruit with plenty of sour cream whip (you can use it all or just add a little bit, completely up to preference) and finish with lots of the green granita (again, you choose to keep some or you can use it all—keep the leftover in an airtight container in the fridge and fluff up with a fork again before serving). serve immediately.