I Made Julia Child’s 4-Ingredient Peach Dessert, and It’s Pure Magic

Julia Child is known for being a treasure trove of culinary knowledge. In her book Julia Child & More Company, she has this gem of a recipe tucked in a sidebar:

“If you have a food processor, use the steel blade and dump in frozen sliced peaches cut in chunks plus 1/3 their volume of Champagne and drops of lemon juice; process, add sugar to taste, and process again. The whole thing takes two minutes and gives you a sherbet of perfect ready-to-eat consistency.”

I imagine Julia, ever the consummate host, eyeing the few sips of Dom Pérignon left in the bottle and thinking she simply couldn’t waste it. She pops open the freezer, spies frozen peaches, and comes up with this dessert on the fly.

This is a refreshing peach bellini-inspired treat that I had to recreate. I followed the framework Julia described and came up with a more specific recipe below.

How To Make Julia Child’s 4-Ingredient Peach Treat

You’ll need eight ounces of frozen peaches, 1/3 cup of Champagne, a teaspoon of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of granulated sugar.

Julia uses peaches because they hold up well in the freezer, and the fruit’s dense texture results in a smooth, creamy consistency when blended. The splash of Champagne takes what would have been a “nice cream” recipe and gives the sorbet complexity and depth. 

Put frozen peaches in the bowl of a food processor with the steel blade. Add the Champagne or sparkling wine and lemon juice, and let ‘er rip. It will be loud as the large chunks of peach break down. Then, the mixture will start to smooth out.

Once it looks creamy, sneak a taste to decide how much sugar to add. Depending on the ripeness of your peaches, you may want a little more than a tablespoon.

After adding the sugar, process again until it reaches the consistency of a sorbet that’s been out on the counter just long enough to make it effortless to scoop. The sweetened frozen peaches are smooth and creamy, with a delightful acidic zing.

Like Julia says, this is a dessert that should be spooned into bowls and enjoyed right away. Champagne coupes are the perfect serving vessel if you have them. I used a snip of fresh mint from the garden to top it off. 

This easy dessert is quintessential Julia, the epitome of don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously cooking. It makes me go back through her cookbooks to find other ideas snuck into sidebars and recipe headnotes! You never know where you’ll find a pearl of wisdom from Julia Child.