Ingredients

• 250ml/8¾fl oz white wine
• 1 orange
• halved
• vanilla pod
• 55g/2oz caster sugar
• 1 apricot
• halved and stone removed
• 284ml/½ pint double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• ½ vanilla pod
• seeds only
• 1 lemon
• juice and zest only
• 2 fresh mint sprigs
• to garnish

Directions

• For the apricots
• heat the wine in a deep saucepan to reduce slightly for 3-4 minutes. Squeeze over the orange juice and add the squeezed orange halves to the pan.
• Using a sharp knife
• scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod. Set aside half of the seeds and add the pod and half the seeds to the pan.
• Add the sugar and let it dissolve then add the apricot halves. Simmer for five minutes
• then take the pan off the heat and allow the apricots to cool.
• Meanwhile
• for the syllabub
• whisk together the double cream with the reserved vanilla seeds until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed from the cream.
• Add the juice and zest of the lemon and the icing sugar. Fold together gently.
• Spoon the cream mixture into two tall dessert glasses and top each with a sprig of mint and half a poached apricot.