It’s hard to beat this variation on that classic dessert - warm biscuits covered with cold sliced peaches and a dollop of whipped cream.Found in ‘Local Flavors’ By Deborah Madison
Serves: 6
Ingredients
The fruit and the topping:
6 ripe and juicy peaches or enough to make about 6 cups sliced
1 tablespoon maple sugar or regular sugar
The biscuits and the cream:
2 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour mixed with 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, sliced into 8 pieces
½ cup chopped candied ginger
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk, milk or cream
1 cup whipping cream
⅛ tsp almond extract
Confectioners’ sugar, optional
Directions
Peel and slice the peaches into wedges about an inch wide. Sprinkle with the sugar, cover and refrigerate while you make the biscuits.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Stir the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix on low speed, using the paddle attachment of your mixer, until the butter is broken into pea-size chunks. Stir in the candied ginger.
Beat the egg with the vanilla and buttermilk. Add it to the dry ingredients and stir just to moisten. If it seems too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons more buttermilk. The texture will be shaggy and barely moist.
Turn the dough onto a counter lightly dusted with flour. Knead with a light touch a few times, then roll or pat the dough into a circle about 3/4-inch thick. Using a glass or cookie cutter, cut out four 3-inch circles, then gather the remains, shape into a disk, and cut out the last 2 biscuits. Place close together on a sheet pan and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks, then stir in the almond extract. To serve, halve the biscuits. Spoon the fruit and its juices over the bottom half, add a dollop of the cream, and cover with the top biscuit. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
