Ina Garten Purees And Freezes Peaches With Grand Marnier For A Sweet, Boozy Dessert
Those warm summer days when you're hosting a backyard party and the sun is scorching hot calls for a cool dessert, and Ina Garten has just the chill recipe to do just that. If you liked Flavor Ice Pops in your youth, you are going to love the Barefoot Contessa's fresh peach cremolata. Cremolata is simply fruit-flavored frozen ice that is light and refreshing. Sometimes it will contain milk for a really creamy consistency, but not always. Garten's version skips the dairy and instead puts a grown-up spin on it.
Per Food Network, Garten uses culinary magic to transform fresh peaches and a sweet simple syrup into a peach puree. The cookbook author also adds Grand Marnier, which offers a Yin and Yang of sweet meets bitter in its citrusy notes that harmoniously complements the sweet peaches. The Grand Marnier along with some vanilla bean imparts a touch of sophistication before it is poured into a pan and popped into the freezer.
Fruit and booze are a match made in heaven
Once in the freezer, the top layer will need to undergo several rounds of scraping with a fork and refreezing until it has the texture of soft serve ice cream. This process will take you about three hours, but it is definitely worth the work — all good things are. You can serve it in fun glasses, top it with whipped cream, or just eat it as is.
If you like Garten's peachy cremolata or if you like the idea of it but aren't a fan of peaches, don't worry. There are plenty of other fruits you can use. Blackberry, raspberry, cherry, grapefruit, pears, pineapple, and rhubarb all pair well with Grand Marnier. You could easily create a different fruit puree with one of these and still use this boozy addition. You could even try adding milk to the mix if you want it to have a decadent creaminess to it. So, the next time you are planning that summer soiree, consider making Garten's cremolata.