What tastes more like summer than a sweet, juicy peach? The air of summer becomes perfumed by these soft fruit and mixed with the fragrance of delicate lavender you could swear, for a moment, you might be in France.
Look how beautiful this peach looks! Honestly, I am not a huge fruit fan. I don't know what it is that turns me off but I've always been a vegetable gal through and through. After having said that, there are some fruit I cannot resist. One is a ripe peach. And what I love about peaches is that they are very seasonal. By that I mean that most fruits and vegetables you can somehow get all year round even though they too are seasonal but the peach is a different matter. Maybe it's the area I'm living in, but you cannot find a peach until the shorts come out and the windows get rolled down. And for that, I love them. Peaches are nostalgic for me. I immediately think of summer and pools and coconut sunscreen and pure joy. The type of joy that only a child knows when summer seems to go on for an eternity and the day seems to never end even when the sun has set and the fireflies are twinkling in the trees. Summer was something to cherish. So yes, peaches have a very high-esteem in my eye and the more recipes you can make with peaches the longer summer will last.
Which brings me to this peach + lavender custard! If you've never baked with lavender before, it is not taunting whatsoever. It has a very strong and distinctive smell but only a subtle hint of that robustness carries into its flavor. So don't think it'll be like essential oil in your custard! The peach, lavender, and vanilla marry so well in this custard you can distinctively taste each separately while mingling together wonderfully! The lavender always makes me think of a long purple field of fragrant flowers somewhere in France (have I been to France and seen this? No. But a girl can dream). So please, try this easy recipe one summer evening and let me know how you enjoyed it! Preferably with feet up and the citronella candle burning bright!
Adapted from French Foodie Baby
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup + 2tbsp sugar
Scrapings from 1 vanilla bean (this makes all the difference)
2 tbsp dried English lavender buds
6 egg yolks
4-6 ripe cut up peaches
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 F
2. Combine coconut milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean scrapings, and lavender in a saucepan. Bring to a light boil, remove from heat, and let steep for about 10 minutes.
3. Whisk the egg yolks. Place some of the peaches into 6 ramekins.
4. Press the lavender mixture through a fine mesh colander into a bowl and press the lavender buds with a spoon to extract the flavor.
5. Wash the colander and then press the egg yolks through it into the same bowl with the lavender mixture and whisk until combined.
6. Pour the mixture into each ramekin on top of the peaches.
7. Place the ramekins into a deep baking dish and pour BOILING water into the dish, being careful not to get the water into the ramekins, up to the level where the custard mixture is set.
8. Place in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until set. Let cool to let it rest. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Enjoy!
