Vanilla Bourbon Peaches and Mascarpone Whipped Cream

These vanilla bourbon peaches are caramelized in butter, vanilla, bourbon, and brown sugar; served with a light, whipped mascarpone and whipped cream topping, and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts.

This is next level "peaches and cream." I can see why someone thought that would be a dreamy combination, but I have a tendency to seek out crunch in my dessert preferences, and I don't think I'm alone. A satisfying crunch from the hazelnuts gives just enough to pop against the softer, creamier texture. The light tartness of the peaches combined with the sweetness of the vanilla bourbon sauce makes this dessert rich and delicious, but not excessively sweet. It makes the perfect pairing with an after dinner drink or cup of hot coffee.

Ingredients for Vanilla Bourbon Peaches and Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Here are a few tips for picking the ingredients to get the best result for this recipe

• Use peaches that are not overly ripe, but not hard. Peaches should have a little give when pressed, but not get squishy. This will make them easier to work with.
• Unsalted butter should be used instead of salted butter. You'll add sea salt flakes and salted butter would bring too much salt to the dish.
• I used light brown sugar. Too much molasses would overly sweeten the sauce.
• *If you have vanilla bean paste available in place of vanilla extract, use the paste. They're generally interchangeable, but I always prefer the richness of paste over extract (this is a link to my favorite vanilla bean paste).

To prep, preheat your oven to 350. Next, slice around each peach, pushing the knife to the pit and cutting around the circumference of the peach. After you've made the cut, twist the peach halves in opposite directions to separate and remove the pit. For the sauce, first combine the butter and brown sugar and begin to melt. As it melts, add in the sea salt flakes, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients well, and then pour in the bourbon and vanilla (paste or extract). Begin adding the peaches to the pan skin side up, and use a pastry brush to coat the peaches in the vanilla bourbon sauce. Move the pan to the oven for 20-30 minutes to roast.

While the peaches roast, toast the hazelnuts and prepare the mascarpone whipped cream topping.

How to toast hazelnuts

Place hazelnuts in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow them to cook a few minutes at a time and turn them with a spoon or spatula so they don't burn on one side. Cook until they're fragrant and begin to turn a deep golden color. Remove from the heat when they're ready and set aside to cool.

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

I realize that combining cheese with whipped cream may seem like a strange concept, it did to me initially, but a couple of years ago I had a request for cupcakes with whipped cream frosting. Working with whipped cream frosting is not my favorite thing to do because it doesn't hold any kind of form for any length of time. That is when I began adding a bit of cream cheese (in addition to powdered sugar) to my whipped cream frosting. It was enough cream cheese and sugar to stabilize the whipped cream, but not so much that it overwhelmed with sweetness or cream cheese flavoring.

This topping incorporates the same concept. I wanted a more stable topping that wouldn't slide off and melt immediately when I served it on top of the peaches, so in place of regular cream cheese, I used mascarpone. It produced the same desired effect, with an even lighter flavor. If you don't have mascarpone handy, cream cheese can be used in its place.

Most importantly, make sure that you're starting with cold, heavy whipping cream. Whip the heavy cream in a bowl until stiff peaks are formed and the cream has really thickened. Then whip in the mascarpone. Last, whip the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste in to combine well.

Serve the peaches warm, spoon extra vanilla bourbon sauce over them, top with a dollop of mascarpone whipped cream, and sprinkle toasted hazelnuts....Probably going to go make myself a bowl of this now that I just wrote this post and now it's all I can think about.

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