My mom has been singing the praises of Ina Garten’s Fresh Peach Cake recipe for the past year and with peaches at their prime, I finally gave the recipe a try. Now I understand what all the fuss was about! The peach cake is absolutely delicious slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice-cream for dessert or at room temperature with a coffee or tea for breakfast or a mid-afternoon sweet treat.
The cake itself is extremely moist and airy. The cinnamon-sugar in it gives the cake a coffeecake-like flavor and the peaches add a juicy freshness. I used chopped Macadamia nuts although the original recipe calls for chopped pecans. Chopped walnuts might also be tasty so take your pick!
Airy Peach Cake
Servings: 8 - 10
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 50-60 minutes
4 large ripe peaches
1 stick (125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (100 g) + 1 cup (200 g) sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup (235 g) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (280 g) flour (T65 in France)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (50 g) chopped macadamia nuts (or pecans or walnuts)
Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Grease a 13 x 9-inch (33 x 23-cm) or 9 x 9-inch (23 x 23-cm) baking pan. Peel, pit and cut the peaches in ½-inch slices and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup (100 g) sugar with the cinnamon and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer), beat the butter with 1 cup (200 g) of sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – about 4 minutes. Lower the mixer speed to low and add the eggs (one at a time), then the sour cream and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
Spread half of the batter in the pan and use a spatula to even it out. Arrange half of the peaches on the batter and sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Dollop the rest of the batter on top and even it out with the spatula. Place the rest of the peaches on top and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar and the chopped nuts.
Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until set – when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a decadent treat!).
And bon appétit!
Adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe in Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?
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