Dessert

Neil Perry’s summer fruit with mascarpone cream is the ultimate last-minute dessert

Name: Neil Perry's easy summer fruit salad with mascarpone cream recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 2 peaches (we used 1 white, 1 yellow), halved, stones removed; 2 white nectarines, halved, stones removed; 2 plums, halved, stones removed; 1 mango; Almond biscuits, to serve; 60g slivered almonds; 100g caster sugar; 3 eggs, separated; 40.00 ml caster sugar, plus 40.00 ml extra; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 300g mascarpone

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15m

Neil Perry's summer fruit desseft — Ben Dearnley

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by Neil Perry

Nov 26, 2025

“For me, this is what Christmas and summer is all about. We are blessed with the most amazing fruit in the world at Christmas time. In my view it would be a crime to have that abundance, turn your back on it, and have a steamed pudding on a 30-degree day. I also love the simplicity of this – using the whipped mascarpone to make it even richer and the biscuit and brittle to give some texture. You can make some jelly if you like, get some ladyfinger biscuits and build a trifle with the fruit, jelly and mascarpone layer with biscuits. Again, it’s simple and doesn’t require much work. It does, however, rely on perfectly ripe, sweet fruit.” – Neil Perry.

You’ll need 8 serving glasses for this recipe.

2 peaches (we used 1 white, 1 yellow), halved, stones removed
2 white nectarines, halved, stones removed
2 plums, halved, stones removed
1 mango
Almond biscuits, to serve

Almond brittle

60g slivered almonds
100g caster sugar

Mascarpone cream

3 eggs, separated
2 tbs caster sugar, plus 2 tbs extra
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
300g mascarpone

Method

1.

To make the brittle, preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Place the almonds on a baking tray and bake for 5-6 minutes, until golden. Combine the sugar and 1½ tbs water in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cook, without stirring and occasionally brushing the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush, for 6 minutes, or until the syrup is golden in colour. Remove from the heat and allow the bubbles to subside. Line a baking tray with baking paper and arrange almonds in the centre in a single layer, then drizzle over the caramel. Set aside to set until hard. Break the brittle into shards.
2.

For the fruit, cut the halves into 3 slices. Peel and cut the cheeks of the mango and slice each cheek into 1cm slices. Mix all the fruit in a bowl, ready to spoon into the glasses.
3.

For the mascarpone cream, whisk the egg yolks, 2 tbs sugar and the vanilla until thick, pale and tripled in volume. Add the mascarpone and whisk until smooth. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Gradually add the extra 2 tbs sugar and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture in three batches.
4.

To assemble, divide fruit between 8 beautiful serving glasses, then place a large dollop of mascarpone over fruit. Sprinkle with the almond brittle, and crumble an almond biscuit on top of each. Serve immediately with extra biscuits.