Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Don't know what it is about the sensual characters of a peach? Maybe because I am an old punk rocker whose favourite band was The Stranglers, whose lyrics 'walking on the beaches looking at the peaches” were words I used to stage dive too.

Whatever the reason, there is an amazing summertime culinary match – much like tomato and basil – when fresh peaches come accompanied by fresh raspberries. Invented in 1892 by the legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel London to honour the Australian soprano Nellie Melba, his recipe combined peaches, vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberry puree.

These days, flavours of the tartness of the raspberries and the sweet peach combined with vanilla ice cream still hold up. I've reinvented the recipe recently and have come up with a kind of sponge/custard cake which adds white chocolate to the flavour mix.

The peaches I used for this cake were golden queen which taste much better poached than eaten raw and are my favourite peach for making chutney. By adding only a small amount of sugar and split vanilla pods to the poaching liquid and steeping in the same liquid for a day, the whole flavour takes on an extra dimension.

This cake is more of a Masterchef-type recipe, but unlike Auguste Esacoffier, I wasn't thinking of opera when I created it.

Peach Michell Cake
Makes one 26cm tin

Ingredients

For the base

200g flour
80g sugar
100g cubed butter
1 egg

For the vanilla custard

1 split vanilla pod
4 egg yokes
3 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
6 golden queen peaches
2 punets of raspberries
150g white chocolate buttons

For the poaching syrup

3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 split vanilla pod

For the sponge mix

6 whole eggs
150g sugar
150g cornflour

Method

Prepare the peaches by making up the syrup and gently poaching them for about 20 minutes, plunge peaches briefly in chilled water which will help in the removal of the skin.

Carefully, cut out the stones from the peaches and submerge in poaching liquid. Leave for about 8-12 hours. Make the base by putting flour and sugar in food processor, gradually add the butter till the mixture resembles fine crumbs, then add the beaten egg. Press into a lined cake tin and bake in oven on 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

While the base is cooking, make up the vanilla custard by heating the milk, half the sugar and the split and scraped vanilla pod.

Place the remaining sugar in a bowl, whisk in the egg yolks then add the warmed milk stirring all the time. Return this to the saucepan and heat slowly while scraping the bottom of the saucepan to prevent turning into scrambled eggs.
As the custard will thicken quickly, remove from heat and constantly stir – strain thru a sieve to remove vanilla pod and allow cooling.

Melt white chocolate on low in microwave, then stir into custard mix. Once the base is cooked, cut peaches into chunks and place all over base and sprinkle raspberries over.

With an electric egg beater, whip up eggs and sugar till very thick and fluffy, sieve in the cornflour and then fold in with vanilla custard and white chocolate. Pour over the prepared filling and place in the middle shelf of preheated oven at 170-180 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven when mixture is wobbly, but firm and chill in fridge till well set (about four hours). Serve with whipped cream and or vanilla ice cream, this stylish cake or tart/sponge will delight the eye as well as the taste buds. Enjoy.