By Yotam Ottolenghi
- Total Time
- About 35 minutes
- Rating
- 4(72)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This dessert, which manages to be both rich and wonderfully refreshing, requires very little effort. Make sure, though, that you use apricots that are at their very best. Other light dessert wines can be used instead of Sauternes.
Featured in: A Small Slice of Versailles
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Scant ½ cup/100 milliliters Sauternes
- ½lime
- ¼teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
- ⅓cup/67 grams granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 6medium ripe apricots (about ⅔ pound/280 grams), halved and pitted
- ¾cup/80 grams raw unsalted pistachios, toasted and finely chopped
- 2.8ounces/80 grams hard amaretti cookies, such as Lazzaroni brand, roughly crumbled (you’ll need two 2.3-ounce/65-gram packages)
- 1tablespoons granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 8ounces/140 grams mascarpone, at room temperature
- ½cup/100 grams heavy cream (double cream), lightly whipped to soft peaks
- 1teaspoon orange blossom water
- 1teaspoon lime zest
For the Apricots
For the Pistachio and Amaretto Mascarpone
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
595 calories; 41 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 35 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 312 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Preparation
Step
1
Poach the apricots: Add Sauternes, lime half, vanilla, sugar and 3 tablespoons/40 milliliters water to a saucepan just big enough to hold the apricot halves in one layer. Place the pan over high heat and cook until the sugar has melted and the liquid boils.
Step
2
Remove the pan from the heat and place the apricots in the hot liquid, cut sides down. Leave them to poach in the residual heat until they are soft but still hold their shape (20 to 40 minutes, depending on how ripe they are) flipping them every 10 minutes. Set the apricots aside to cool slightly. (If not serving immediately, transfer the apricots to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.) Squeeze the lime into the syrup and then discard it; return the saucepan with the syrup to medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about ¼ cup/70 milliliters, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside at room temperature until needed.
Step
3
Prepare the mascarpone mixture: Combine pistachios, amaretti cookies and sugar. Add three-quarters of this mixture to a bowl with the mascarpone and mix it all together until combined, then fold in the cream.
Step
4
To serve, divide the apricots and the amaretti cream between four bowls. Pour the syrup over the apricots and sprinkle the remaining amaretti and pistachio crumble over the cream. Finish with orange blossom water and lime zest and serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
72
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Cooking Notes
Jan Galatis
I have health reasons to eat pretty low carb and this recipe is easily adapted to low carb. I have found roasted nuts and coconut in a bit of butter is wonderful and this could easily use that instead of sweetened cookies.
Val
The apricots I can get are lackluster, so I certainly plan to make this with peaches and nectarines!
KS
add a bit of cardamom to pistachio/cookie mixture
Helga
Made it as described: this is incredibly good and quite little effort. As always, the quality of the ingredients, i.e. the apricots is important.
Amo Coquere
Outstanding recipe! One of the best desserts! I didn't have the orange blossom water and was considering using Grand Marnier as a substitute. Decided not to at the last minute. Skipped the sugar with the pistachio and cookies as the cookies are sweet enough. Sliced the apricots when serving to make eating it a bit easier. Final assembly: amaretti cream topped with apricots then syrup, crumble, lime zest! Everyone loved it!
Ardi
Very very good. Labor intensive.
Mel
Used plums instead of apricots and regular white wine. De-lish!!!! Definitely Top 10 dessert!!
KS
add a bit of cardamom to pistachio/cookie mixture
Paulina H
I sweetened the marscapone with 1 1/2 tsp of caster sugar. I did not add any additional sugar to the crumb mixture since the cookies already had sugar on top. The crispness of the cookies went well with the other textures and it was delicious,
Emily
Since apricots are out of season now, I am contemplating usingplumcots instead. Plumcots are sometimes called Pluots and are a hybrid stonefruit — a cross between apricots and plums. I am considering plumcots because they are smaller and more like the shape of an apricot than bigger stonefruit like nectarines. My question is that if I adapt this poached apricot recipe with pluots, should I alter the amount of sugar or sauterne?
Brad
I think I have just had what I will have for dessert my first night in heaven!Really easy to make and the payoff is huge.Bon appetite.
Francesca
Absolutely delicious, one of the best desserts I have ever made. Contrast of flavors and textures wonderful.
Walter
I wonder if fresh frozen apricots would work? The fresh ones in the shops in NYC are never good, at any price.
terlevi@yahoo.com
Yes, u r right about the NYC apricots, but the good thing about poached apricots is that the flavor or what little there is, is intensified greatly. In fact, I do this recipe when I cannot find good apricots!!
Nan
Just made this to serve for tonight's dessert - so easy to pull together, and separately, all the components are fabulous! Can't wait to taste them all put together on the plate!
Roni
What if I don’t have orange blossom water?
Inez
If Apricots arn’t available can Peaches be substituted?
Val
The apricots I can get are lackluster, so I certainly plan to make this with peaches and nectarines!
Golem18
Curious whether dried apricots could be used when fresh are not available. Would they plump up enough in the poaching liquid? What would be the difference in taste?
Mary
I would slightly reduce the sugar.
Jan Galatis
I have health reasons to eat pretty low carb and this recipe is easily adapted to low carb. I have found roasted nuts and coconut in a bit of butter is wonderful and this could easily use that instead of sweetened cookies.
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