Simple Roasted Apricots with honey mascarpone
Everything is as sweet as dessert in the summertime.
Living is totally easy:
Morning warmth and sunshine. Just like dessert.
Granola with berries and sweet coffee. Reminds me of dessert.
Chicken salads and pink wine for lunch. Desserty.
Peachy blue sunsets, popcorn for dinner, and roasted apricots for dessert.
Gin and tonics. Totally dessert.
Sleep. Wake. Repeat.
(Oh, but let’s not forget the fact that we still have to totally work hard, and get our hustle on, and keep our eye on the prize, and keep our nails did, and eat our vegetables, and pay our bills, and stay inspired, and just when we think we’ve worked hard enough… we have to try to work a little harder)
But other than that… summertime is totally all dessert, all the time.
Summer fruit is just stunning. I ate most of these fuzzy little apricots just standing in my kitchen, trying to dream up a way to bake them. They’re delicate and sweet, and absolutely my favorite fruit of summer.
Wait… did I say that about peaches last week? Did I say that about strawberries the week before that? I can’t decide. I’m in summer heaven.
I dipped apricot halves in granulated sugar and roasted them under the broiler.
The fruit stays firm, but the tops get crunchy crisp, as the melted sugar creates a light candy shell.
I topped these little gems with honey sweetened marscarpone cheese and a bit of mint and lemon balm. Lemon balm is like lemon mint.
So simple. This dessert takes 5 minutes to create.
You could also try this recipe with ripe plums, ripe peaches or nectarines. It feels fancy… but it’s really just good, simple, summer food.
Simple Roasted Apricots with honey mascarpone
Serves 2
4 apricots, halved and pits removed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup marscarpone cheese
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon chopped lemon balm (optional)
Preheat broiler. Place sugar in a shallow bowl. Dip apricot halves in sugar and place in a oven safe dish. Place dish under the broiler and bake for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep an eye on the apricot, and carefully rotate the pan as necessary. Sugar will melt, boil and begin to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, mix honey into mascarpone cheese. Place slightly cooled apricots on a plate. Top with a dollop of mascarpone mixture, and a sprinkling of fresh mint and lemon balm. Serve.
These apricots are best served just after they’re baked.
153 Comments Add A Comment
I wish we had “real” apricots here… The store-bought variety looks like apricots but tastes like grass… :( I grew up with several apricot trees in the back yard — juicy, fragrant fruit… oh, memories… my mouth is watering! :)
Fabulous!!! Such a simple but amazing dessert! Think I might try it with peaches and make a raspberry coulis to drizzle with, yum? Thanks, Chris
Apricots have never been a favorite of mine, but these look so wonderful I think it may turn me around!
looks wonderful. i love the cheesy fruit dessert combination!
so lovely! apricots always remind me of my grandparents’ house in the san joaquin valley because they had an apricot tree in the backyard.. perfect pair with the mascarpone.
Mmmm these look delicious and your pictures are gorgeous, I have so much to learn from you :) Thanks for sharing!!
These look amazing. Do you have one of those broilers with a high and a low setting? Mine has it, so I wasn’t sure what temperature setting to use.
These look divine! I just adore roasted or grilled fruits! My favorite preparation for apricots in summertime is a campfire treat. Simply cut a slit in an apricot, remove the pit and replace with a generous chunk of gorgonzola, then wrap a piece of proscuitto around the fruit, skewer it and roast it over the campfire until the proscuitto gets lightly crisp, the apricot gets warm and juicy and the gorgonzola gets melty. Repeat this process again… and again… and again until you’ve spoiled your dinner… Don’t worry – it will be so worth it!
that sounds like a great savory twist to this apricot-mascarpone! we’ve tried that gorgonzola idea with dates before and it delish. apricots sound like a great way to do something like that with fresh, seasonal fruit.
How is it that I enjoy everything that you come up with? Crazy.
Oh Joy, I love you.
I just got some fresh apricots and I’m going to grill them tonight. Love the honey mascarpone cream to go with it. Perfect Summer food!
Love that you let summer’s bounty shine through by only adding a few simple flavors. These look perfect.
Just wonderful and who does not love summer fruits. We have an apricot tree so now I know what to do with them before my dog trys to eat them up…. and yes that means trouble.
Thanks for sharing!
I bought marscapone at the grocery last night just to try this! Love everything you do and can’t wait for the next idea!
Fantastic recipe! I think im going to make a duo of apricots and plums. I really love fresh and simple summer food. I spend countless summer nights eating fresh peaches over my kitchen sink listening to Van Morrison.
You’re the dessert, you’re awesome.
Made a casual dinner for my mommy friends last night and ended our evening with this apricot dessert… Not only was it SUPER DUPER easy, but so yummy and light. They were so impressed:)
Ooohhhh yes! I just recently figured out how to make a good vegan mascarpone and I’m definitely going to throw a tub of it on top of these! Thank you!
Simple desserts are the best and this one looks gorgeous and delicious. Happy Baking!
That photo of the apricots against the wood grain is totally gorgeous!
that photo of the *raw* apricots, i mean. dur.
I made these last night and they exceeded my expectations! I used brown sugar instead of white, because that’s what I had, and I didn’t have any marscapone so I nestled in a little chocolate in a few as they cooled. The chocolate ones were the winners (obviously).
This recipe is so simple, and looks soooooo yummy!!! I’m going to have to try this one ASAP!!
I was searching for a simple dessert recipe to try this weekend – tah dah! So happy to have found it!
I Love you…
This looks absolutely delightful, and I’m betting it will be yummy too! Our local supermarket just got some beautiful apricots, so I can’t wait to try this recipe and share with my family. What a “Joy”!
This look divine. The mint must add such a delicious flavour, yum :)
Loved this recipe- very quick, very simple… an absolute hit! i added leftover vanilla rice pudding instead of the marscarpone cheese, but it still did the trick. I’m a huge fan of the website, and i always love the desserts!
We just moved to a new house with a huge apricot tree and this looks so yummy! There are hundreds of apricots right now ripening and I’m trying to think of ways to use them all. Thanks!
these look heavenly delicious! will have to get my hands on some apricots of my own so can try the above out…mmmmm!
I made this tonight and the whole family LOVED it. Even my 3 year old, who usually wants nothing to do with mint, ate it with the mint on it.
Brilliant idea! Believe it or not, our lovely local grocery store was out of mascarpone. So, I tried my hand at homemade ricotta. It was wonderful substitute! I added maple and a touch of vanilla bean paste and almond extract. Thanks again for the inspiration, Joy!
http://mariahskitchen.com/2011/07/maple-ricotta-apricots/
Made these tonight…delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!
Joy, Thank you for the inspiration of this simple but scrumptious dish! I used plums and creme fraiche (cause that’s what I had) and it totally worked. My husband and I actually licked our plates! Happy Summer. :)
We have a huge apricot tree and I have made more than enough jars of jam, these little treats are so perfect!! Thank you!