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Before bringing this dessert to your table, throw a few drops of water on your forehead so that your guests can be convinced of how hard you have worked making this beautiful, and seemingly complicated, but delicious dessert.

Give yourself plenty of time for the gelatin to do it's work, and be sure your fruit is perfectly ripe and with good flavor. These are the two requirements for success.

SUMMER FRUIT TERRINE

Ingredients

1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
4 large peaches (about 2 lbs)
2 envelopes (2 Tbsps) unflavored gelatin
16 Strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup seedless green grapes, halved lengthwise (they are nice peeled)
2 1/4 cups raspberry peach sauce (recipe follows)

Mint springs for garnish

Method

In a saucepan, combine wine, sugar, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and add 2 of the peaches, peeled, halved, and pitted, cut sides down.

Simmer peaches for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are very tender, and transfer with a slotted spoon to a blender.

Add 1 cup cooking liquid and blend until smooth.

In a small saucepan sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup cold water, let it soften for 5 minutes.

Heat over low heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved.

With blender motor running, add gelatin mixture in a stream to the peach mixture and blend until smooth.

Line a 5 or 6-cup terrine or loaf pan with plastic wrap and pour into it about 1/4 cup peach puree, just to cover bottom of the mold.

Arrange half the strawberries, cut sides down, in one layer on the peach puree; and cover the strawberries with peach puree.

Peal, halve, and pit the remaining 2 peaches, slice thin, and, in a bowl toss them with 1/4 cup of peach puree

Arrange half the peach slices, overlapping slightly, over the strawberry layer, and pour enough of the remaining peach puree over the peach layer to just cover.

In a small bowl toss the raspberries and blueberries with 1/4 cup peach puree and arrange berries in one layer over peaches, and cover with peach puree.

In a bowl, toss the grapes with peach puree, and arrange in one layer over berries.

Pour enough of the remaining puree into the terrine to just cover the grape layer.

Arrange remaining peaches in one layer, overlapping slightly over the grapes, and cover with puree.

Arrange remaining strawberries, cut sides up, in one layer, and cover with the remaining puree.

Chill the terrine for 1 hour, or until it is just set, cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

Remove wrap from terrine, invert onto a plate, and serve with raspberry peach sauce.

RASPBERRY PEACH SAUCE

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsps fresh lemon juice
2 large peaches (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups raspberries

In a saucepan combine sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

In a blender puree the the mixture until smooth, force through a fine sieve set over a bowl, discarding the solids.

Chill sauce, covered, for at least an hour or overnight.

Makes 2 1/4 cups

Learn more about this author, Joan Mccord.
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