Lately I've been trying to think of just about any way to bake with fresh peaches. Our peach season came early this year but surprisingly it's lasted late into August and brought some of the sweetest peaches around. Almost all the baskets I've bought have been near perfect! 

In fact, I'm not sure why I hadn't previously thought of topping mini pavlovas with them. Pavlovas are one of the simplest desserts out there, and I think peaches complement them perfectly. 

For the photos you see here I used this recipe from Nigella Lawson except I substituted the fresh berries with a couple sliced and macerated peaches {to macerate, submerge a couple pitted and sliced peaches in Riesling Indian Summer Ice Wine for about 30 minutes prior to serving}. I also whipped up a quick batch of white chocolate ganache and served it at room temperature drizzled on top. 

Or for a chocolate alternative, skip the stonefruit and add a touch of cocoa powder to the pavlova mix and serve with fresh seasonal berries. Enjoy!

—Nikole

{photos and styling by Nikole Herriott for Oh Joy}