Baked Peaches and Cream

This is a really simple recipe that I love whipping up during the summer months. These baked peaches and cream are not only easy to make, they’re scrumptious and a healthier fix for your sweet tooth.

Baked Peaches

I love finishing off a meal with something sweet. It’s one of the reasons I think I was French in another life; no meal is complete without dessert.

That said, dessert doesn’t have to be chocolate mousse or cream puffs in order for it to be satisfying. I find this especially true during the summer months where you’ll find an abundance of sweet stone fruit like peaches.

I love how quick and easy it is to put this dessert together and that it relies mostly on the natural sweetness of the peaches rather than added sugar or a ton of other ingredients.

To create these baked peaches, all you need are some ripe peaches, butter, and crème Chantilly (freshly whipped cream). A couple of optional ingredients that I like to add are ground cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.

While I’m sure not many French people add ground cinnamon to their pêches rôties (roasted peaches), I can’t seem to shake off my American love for the spice and its presence in baked goods.

The honey is there more for the floral quality it adds to the dessert rather than sweetness as I only use a slight drizzle of it. It adds a special something-something that really elevates this dish and makes it lovely for entertaining.

For the butter, I use a high-quality salted butter. I love the one that Trader Joe’s carries, which is imported from Brittany, France (the birthplace of all good salted butter). If you don’t have access to a Trader Joe’s, I love Kerrygold’s salted butter as well.

The reason I use salted butter as opposed to unsalted, which is what I usually use in my recipes, is because the salt just adds more dimension in this recipe. Typically, I find that salted butter can be tricky to bake with because it can cause desserts to be too salty sometimes.

In this case, that little bit of salt in the butter is a nice contrast to the sweetness of the peaches. I like that it rounds out the dessert while adding some complexity to the flavor profile.

If you only have unsalted butter on hand, that will work out just fine too, so no need to worry. You could always add a tiny smidgen of sea salt to the peaches to bring that flavor dimension in.

The crème Chantilly is wonderful for adding that light and creamy texture to the dessert, and giving your palate that indulgent finish. You could substitute ice cream if you wanted, but I just adore the lightness of freshly whipped cream.

I only add a pinch of sugar to the cream to stay true to crème Chantilly’s French roots.

You could easily do this recipe with plums, apricots, and nectarines. In the winter, some ripe pears would be fantastic as well.

These baked peaches are also something you can entertain with, so they not only work as a weeknight dessert but also something you can spoil guests with too!

Baked Peaches with Cream

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

A simple and quick summer dessert made up of baked peaches topped with freshly whipped cream. 

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Ingredients

• 2 large, ripe peaches, cut in half with cores removed
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• ground cinnamon
• honey

for the crème Chantilly

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the peach halves into an oven-safe baking dish. Add 1/2 a tablespoon of salted butter to each peach half, placing the butter directly over the hollow centers. 
2. Sprinkle just a tiny pinch of ground cinnamon over each peach half. Bake the peaches anywhere from 6 to 12 minutes. It just depends on how soft your peaches were to begin with. If they were super ripe and tender, then they'll need less time. A firm peach will need the full 12 minutes.  
3. While the peaches bake, make the crème Chantilly. Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to whisk the cream, sugar, and vanilla on high speed in a large bowl. Whisk until the cream is firm and clear indentations have formed. 
4. When the peaches are ready, drizzle just a little bit of honey over the warm peach halves. Top each with a spoonful of cream. Serve immediately.