BAKED PEACHES WITH ALMONDS AND MERINGUE

Work the almond paste with the butter and 45g of sugar, then mix in the egg yolks and whisk the mixture thoroughly; mix the ground almonds with the cornflour and stir into the almond and egg mixture

Beat the egg whites and the remaining sugar until firm peaks form; fold this into the almond mixture; butter an ovenproof dish and spread 1/3 of the almond cream on the bottom of it; arrange the peaches, cut side up in the dish; pipe the remaining almond cream around and on top of the peaches and bake in a preheated oven at 190C/Gas 5 for 20 minutes

In the meantime beat the egg whites until stiff; add the sugar a tablespoon at a time beating well after each addition; continue beating until you have a stiff, shiny meringue

Take the dessert out of the oven and pipe a lattice of meringue on top; sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and place under a grill or a hot oven until the meringue is lightly brown