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Photograph of Angela Hartnett’s Poached Apricots with Whipped Vanilla Ricotta

Angela Hartnett’s Poached Apricots with Whipped Vanilla Ricotta

Soft, sweet apricots poached in vanilla syrup with hints of clove and star anise, served on a smooth, silky bed of whipped ricotta and mascarpone cheese topped with chopped pistachio nuts. This dessert is right up my alley! Wonderfully quick and simple and not over-sweet, this Italian inspired dessert screams summer but can be adapted to suit the seasons by using different fruits, such as plums, peaches and pears. Serve at room temperature on warmer days and with warmed fruit in the colder months.

Serves 4 - 6

Course Dessert
Keyword apricots, mascarpone, ricotta
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Apricots:

  • ½ vanilla pod
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 clove
  • 12 fresh apricots
  • 400ml water

Vanilla Ricotta:

  • 250g ricotta cheese
  • 150g mascarpone cheese
  • 100g icing sugar
  • vanilla seeds from ½ vanilla pod (see above)

Serve:

  • 25g pistachio nuts, chopped

Instructions

  1. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  2. Poach the apricots: slice the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Save the vanilla seeds for later and put the scraped pod in a saucepan with the sugar, star anise, clove and water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Stir from time to time.

  3. Meanwhile, halve the apricots and remove the stones. Add to the saucepan when the sugar has dissolved and poach on a low to medium heat for 10 minutes, or until soft. Take off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes.

  4. Gently strain the apricot juice into a saucepan and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook until reduced by two thirds and you have a sweet and sticky syrup. Pour over the apricots and set aside to cool. Discard the vanilla pod, star anise and clove.

  5. Vanilla ricotta: weigh the ricotta, mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla seeds into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk, or balloon whisk, until light and fluffy.

  6. Serve: serve the apricots at room temperature on a bed of ricotta cream, drizzled with the apricot syrup and sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts. You can either serve it on individual plates/dishes or on a large serving bowl and let everyone help themselves.

Recipe Notes

 

Equipment:

  • kitchen scales and measuring spoons
  • chopping board and knife
  • saucepan x 2
  • mixing bowl and electric or balloon whisk
  • serving plate(s)/dish(s)

 

More details on ingredients and instructions:

Please see the ingredient list and the instructions in the post above, for further information.

 

Where is this recipe from?

This delicious Angela Hartnett recipe can be found in her wonderful cookery book ‘The Weekend Cook’, as well as on the Waitrose website.