By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on October 4, 2026
Serves 6
617 cal · 380 min
Aunt Lilly's Peach Floats
Recipe GLPRe6a33da25dd3cc
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Average rating: 3.8 (1)
A refreshing late-summer dessert featuring silky vanilla pastry cream infused with fresh peaches, tart raspberries, and a touch of raspberry jam, topped with sweetened whipped cream. This elegant yet simple float combines cool, creamy textures with bright fruit flavors—perfect for warm evenings.
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Ingredients
1 ounce arrowroot starch
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
4 oz sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
6 fresh peaches
1 cup fresh raspberries
6 tbsp raspberry jam
1 tbsp powdered sugar
Directions
In a heatproof bowl, slowly whisk the arrowroot starch into the room-temperature egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth.
Stir in 1 cup of the heavy cream to thin out the egg yolk mixture and combine well.
Set up an ice bath by placing a larger bowl filled with ice and water on your work surface. Nestle a smaller heatproof bowl into the ice bath, ensuring no water can splash into it, and set aside.
Heat the remaining 1½ cups of heavy whipping cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer.
Slowly whisk ½ cup of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture to temper it, stirring constantly. Repeat with another ½ cup of hot cream.
Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream and stir constantly with a spatula over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens and reaches 160°F (to ensure food safety), being careful not to scramble the eggs.
Strain the hot pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl set in the ice bath, discarding any cooked bits of egg.
Stir the vanilla bean paste into the chilled pastry cream until fully incorporated.
Remove the bowl from the ice bath and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight, until completely chilled.
Bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Carefully add the peaches and simmer for a few minutes until the skins begin to soften slightly.
Transfer the peaches to a bowl of ice water and let cool completely. Once cooled, gently peel off the skins, cut each peach in half, remove the pit, and slice into 6 to 8 slices per peach.
Whip 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks and gently fold it into the chilled pastry cream.
In a separate bowl, whip the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
Divide the pastry cream mixture evenly among 6 serving bowls.
Top each bowl with peach slices and fresh raspberries.
Distribute the raspberry jam in small spoonfuls over the peach slices in each bowl (about 1 tablespoon per bowl), then crown each with a dollop of the sweetened whipped cream and garnish with a fresh raspberry on top.
Serve immediately, or cover the bowls with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. The assembled floats will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator, and the pastry cream alone will last up to a week in an airtight container.
Comments
The 380-minute stated time masks a real issue: this is a made-from-scratch custard and meringue dessert that requires multiple chilling stages and careful egg work, so plan for a full afternoon and evening, not a weeknight project. Vanilla bean paste and arrowroot starch mean a second stop—neither is standard at Charlotte Food Lion or Walmart, though Harris Teeter carries both and ALDI sometimes stocks arrowroot. At roughly $3.50 per serving for heavy cream, egg yolks, and fresh peaches, it's pricey for a summer dessert, but the dish rewards a patient baker: it does not keep well and is best eaten fresh the same day, so this is a special-occasion float, not a make-ahead.
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