Bring it to a simmer, and cook until the peaches are tender and the skins ready to slip off. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift in almond flour, 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar, salt, and baking powder and fold into egg whites. Put some extra icing sugar out on a plate and drop heaping tablespoons of the almond mixture on to this. Grind the bitter almonds finely with a little of the caster sugar to help them along – use a mortar and pestle or small food processor. Whip egg whites and lemon juice together with a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. To convince them to indulge would be an act of charity. Space these out on a baking sheets lined with baking parchment, giving them plenty of room to expand. To order a copy for £24 with free UK p&p, click on the link or call 0330 333 6846, Available for everyone, funded by readers. Heat the butter and sugar in a large frying pan over a medium heat and, once melted and bubbling, add the pear slices (skip this stage if using tinned). Both places benefited from foreign expertise bequeathed by turbulent histories: in Naples the French left behind the techniques of viennoiserie and pâtisserie, and in Sicily the Arab legacy includes a love of sugar, spice, citrus and soft cheese. Serve the ice (whose colour is about as beautiful as can be, especially on a sunny day) with the whole peaches on top. Put the almonds and marzipan into a mixer and set on low speed to combine. espresso (make it strong) 200ml plus 100ml water, or 300ml very strong coffeecaster sugar 100gglucose syrup or light runny honey 1 tbsplarge egg yolks 100g (about 6). And then another …. Sweet food, by and large, presents a challenge: how can we preserve, in something as artificial as a jelly, pudding or cake, the flavour and freshness of a fruit? Leave to cool, then serve at room temperature. Allow the syrup to simmer with the skins in it for at least 20 minutes longer (to extract all the colour and flavour), and taste for sweetness. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future. Add the egg white, vanilla and baking powder and mix again. Sift icing sugar on top and leave to sit for at least 2 hours. Strain the rosy pink liquid, let it cool, then pour it into a deep tray that will fit in your freezer (metal is best). Then add in the remaining sugar with the lemon zest, almond … Put the almonds and marzipan into a mixer and set on low speed to combine. All, it must be confessed, go down very well, with Lawson’s recipe gaining points for school-dinners authenticity – “though it tastes nicer – what have you put it in?” Butter, obvs – but pudding to me suggests something rich and squidgy, so I’ve opted for the melting method, upped the cocoa powder and used soft brown sugar rather than caster for a damper, darker result. Fold all the ingredients together to make a thick paste. It is a great thing to do with less-than-perfect peaches, especially if they have dark red skins – but it is one of the only dishes I can think of where it's excusable to use good peaches, too (such peaches are so hard to find it is normally a travesty to do anything other than eat them as they are). Gently press each one down to flatten it. If you are that person, then we are cut from the same cloth – and we are the lucky ones. • Chocolate and pear pudding: a nostalgic favourite from childhood or a waste of one of autumn’s finest assets? But these are baked, with their skins on, in large quantities of wine, sugar and cloves until the syrup is thick, the fruit condensed and aromatic.
