Peach and spearmint sorbet in Sambuca and fennel baskets

• By Nick Camilleri Preziosi and Alex Mattei

You will need:

For the Sambuca baskets: two tablespoonfuls of castor sugar, two heaped tablespoonfuls of golden syrup, three heaped, tablespoonfuls of plain flour, a generous dash of Sambuca, one level teaspoon of ground ginger, two teaspoonfuls of fennel seeds. For the sorbet: 150g of granulated sugar, 300ml of water 500g of peaches (peeled and pitted), two mint leaves, the juice of half a lemon, the white of one egg – optional (beaten).

For the Sambuca baskets: Preheat the oven to 150C. Lightly butter a baking tray. In a small saucepan, melt the sugar, golden syrup and butter. As soon as it starts to bubble, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour, ground ginger and Sambuca, and then sprinkle in the fennel seeds. With a teaspoon, place six blobs of the mixture on the buttered baking tray, each about the size of a walnut. There is no need to flatten them as they spread naturally in the oven to more than four times their original size. Bake the biscuits for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are flat and a rich golden brown colour. Leave them on the baking tray for five minutes or so until they are cool enough to mould into the desired shape basket shape, but not so cool that they have hardened too much. To create the basket shape. For the sorbet: Heat the sugar in the water until it has dissolved. Allow it to cool. Once it has cooled, refrigerate it until it is ready to use. It will keep for at least a week. Blend the peaches and the cooled syrup with the mint leaves and lemon juice, in an ice-cream maker. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, put the mixture into a freezer-proof bowl, place it in the freezer, and then just before it freezes over completely, bring it out and whisk it to break up the ice crystals. Repeat the process a few times until you have a creamy mass.