Peach Bluba

So I have absolutely no idea if bluberries are in season or not. Since this is the UK I'm going to guess... not. But these little dudes were in my freezer and spring is pretty much here so I felt I needed some fruit dessert to celebrate. So this is my take on the classic Peach Melba which I have called Peach Bluba. Because of the blueberries. Also because I'm very clever and funny.

This dessert is ridiculously easy to make but very tasty and has some heat to take away the chill on these early spring nights but enough fruit to remind you that warmer days are on their way!

Peach Bluba

2 x peach halves*

1/2 cup frozen blueberries**

3 tbsp sugar***

1 scoop vegan ice cream

Place the sugar and blueberries in a saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until the blueberries are heated throughout and they've release some of their purple juices so you have a nice, warm, viscous sauce. Remove from heat and let stand for a couple of minutes.

Place peach halves in a bowl with the ice cream. Spoon the berries over the peaches and ice cream and drizzle the blueberry sauce over as well.

* If you live in England they'll have to come out of a can because the fresh ones are just terrible at the moment.

** You could use fresh ones if you live somewhere closer to the equator.

*** I actually used fructose sugar because my agave nectar phase died out but I'm still not a big cane sugar fan.

Dessert? Um... sure, I made dessert...

I cooked a delicious, creamy pasta the other night (the basil was dying on our kitchen window (I have a theory it's because the sun never appears in England) and I had to use it up) but we only had our camping saucepan and our small frypan we bought from Sainsbury's so the portion size was a little smaller than usual. So Geoff was still hungry after the pasta and asked for dessert; a dessert that I had not prepared.

I used to make a banana split at home with bananas, soy ice cream, soy cream, Cointreau and nuts. We didn't have any Cointreau, though, and often that dessert is a little rich for me. So I threw together this delicious dessert with some items that everyone should have lying around.

No-Bake Tropical Custard Crunch

Serves 2

1 cup custard

1 peach

1 banana

2 tbsp honey*

1 ginger biscuit**

1 tsp cinnamon

vegan ice cream***

Halve the custard and pour 1/2 cup into the bottom of two dessert bowls (i.e 1/4 cup in each). Halve the banana length ways and place one half in each bowl. Slice the peach into sections, removing the seed, and arrange in bowls evenly.

Scoop out some ice cream into each bowl (I put two scoops in each but do whatever you like!) and then drizle the remaining custard and honey over the dish.

Crush the biscuit up (I normally do this with the back of a spoon on a dry chopping board) and sprinkle it and the cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

Notes:

• You could heat the custard so that you get a lovely contrast between the hot custard and cold ice cream (think warm apple crumble and ice cream... mmm!)
• The peach and banana could easily be replace by other fruits. I fully promote the use of seasonal fruits.

* I remain okay with eating honey. I can't seem to find any evidence that insects feel pain and the extraction of honey, as long as it is done responsibly, does not appear to have any serious effects on the bees. However, I still completely understand other people's apprehensions and the honey in this recipe can easily be replace with maple syrup, rice honey, agave nectar or any other viscous, sweet substance.

** The ginger biscuits here in the UK are vegan. That's not so in Australia. You could just replace it with any sweet biscuit but the ginger adds a nice flavour.

*** We didn't actually use soy ice cream. We used Tofutti's Mango and Passionfruit ice cream which tastes nothing like a sorbet or an ice cream but I still like it (it's almost like bad supermarket gelato). Since then we have discovered the absolutely amazing Swedish Glace which tastes like really well made real ice cream! But if you are in Australia you might be stuck with So Good. Sorry!