Peach cake - need I say more?

Yesterday we tried to beat the summer heat by sipping drinks and eating delicious food on our friend's lovely new deck. Neil and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to make the peach cake from Cook's Illustrated. I have made cakes before, but never with fruit. Before reading the article I did not realize how many things could go wrong (e.g., soggy cake, slimy fruit, bland fruit), but fortunately the magazine had detailed steps to overcome all these hazards and give me a great product the first go around!

Peach Cake

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated July and August 2011

The cake was a success! Not soggy and had a robust taste of peach. Better yet, the combination of brown sugar and almond extract in the cake batter gave the cake a caramel-like taste. And having a serving (or two) of the cake is relatively guilt-free (only 1 stick of butter - I promise!).

Taste: 4.5 out of 5
Cost: <$1 for one serving (we got peaches on sale for $1 per lb!)
Healthiness: 250 calories per serving
Difficulty: 3.5 out of 5 (mostly because it is time consuming - leave about 2 hours plus time for cake to cool)

Recipe

2 pounds peaches

5 tablespoons peach schnapps

4 teaspoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup sour cream (perhaps I'll try low-fat next time?)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon almond extract (I was more liberal with the extract- it was so good!)

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions
1) peel and slice peaches in 1/2-in wedges (about 8 wedges per peach)
2) toss 24 wedges in 2 tablespoons of schnapps, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp granulated sugar and set aside
3) cut remaining slices cross-wise into 3 pieces. toss with 3 tbspns schnapps, 2 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbspns sugar.
4) bake diced peaches on sprayed, aluminum covered pan for 20 minutes in 425 degree oven (or until the edges of pan become browned as the juices caramelize). Allow peaches to cool.
5) whisk brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, eggs. Add and mix butter, sour cream, vanilla, and 1/4 tsp almond extract
6) in separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to wet mixture (mix by hand!) and stir until just incorporated (some chunks are ok - you do not want to over mix the cake batter or it will be dense and rubbery)
7) toss cooled peach chunks with bread crumbs
8) put half of cake batter in greased cake pan (I used a bundt cake pan instead of springform as that is what I had handy)
9) layer chunks of peaches on batter and slightly press down
10) add remaining batter
11) arrange the peach slices on the cake in a ring
12) bake for 50 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean) in 350 degree oven