Fresh Peach Cake
So, do you ever have those days when things just aren’t going right? The day I made this cake was one of those days. The morning was rough and then I tried to make this cake while feeding the boys and, well, that just wasn’t a good idea. Distracted baking is never a good idea. First, peeling peaches. Not a fun process. I tried blanching and shocking them – the peel was supposed to fly right off! Not so much. Put them back in the hot water… tried microwaving… still would. not. come off. So, I peeled them with a vegetable peeler.
Then I made a minor mistake – I added the cinnamon to the dry ingredients instead of the sugary topping. Oh well, I thought. It’ll be a cinnamon cake – that’s still good. Then I made a bigger mistake and added the cinnamon sugar that’s supposed to be layered on TOP of the peaches in WITH the peaches. Which would have been fine in a peach cobbler or crisp. But not this cake.
I baked it anyway, and it was still delicious because you can’t really go wrong with a Barefoot Contessa recipe. But I suggest you make it her way. Because Ina always knows best.
Fresh Peach Cake
Ingredients:
- 12 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 - 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 2 extra large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup sour cream, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 large ripe peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced
Directions:
- In a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy - about 3-5 minutes
- With the mixer on low add in the eggs (one at a time) then the sour cream and vanilla
- In a separate bow, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
- With the mixer still on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients until everything is just combined
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon
- Grease a 9"x9" square pan and pour in 1/2 the batter - it will seem like there's not enough, just make sure you have a thin layer across the whole bottom of the pan
- Put down half of the sliced peaches and then top with 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture
- Add the rest of the cake batter and try to evenly spread it to cover most of the peaches - then add the remaining sliced peaches and top with the rest of the cinnamon sugar
- Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean
I found this cake to be the best the day it was baked, so it's not a great make ahead cake - it's still delicious the next day just not as pretty looking!
Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa