I'm Just Peachy!

I'm still putting away garden produce, roasting tomatoes and flash-freezing peppers, but then along came the Colorado peaches. A "lug" of the nicest peaches I think I've ever purchased. (They came from the local Lion's Club as part of their fund-raising efforts.) At first I didn't think there were very many in the box, nice as they were, then I started peeling them...

Blanching makes for easy peeling, but I only had time that morning to do part of the pile. Some of them were used for jam, some were frozen, and some were put in this:

Peach and Pecan Upside-Down Cake

Bon Appétit August 2009 by Cindy Mushet

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

For peach and pecan topping:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

40 (about) pecan halves (about 3 ounces)

2 medium peaches (about 7 ounces each), peeled, halved, pitted, each half cut into 6 wedges

For cake: 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup pecans

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

Special equipment: 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides (I used a deep dish pie plate.)

Peach and Pecan Topping:

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar; whisk until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute.

Pour mixture into 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; spread evenly over bottom of pan (layer will be thin).

Arrange pecan halves, side by side with round sides down, in circle around outer edge of pan bottom. Arrange peach wedges, slightly overlapping, inside circle of pecans, covering pan bottom. Set aside while making cake batter. Cake:

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F.

Combine first 6 ingredients in processor. Blend until nuts are finely ground. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until butter is pale in color, about 4 minutes. Whisk eggs and vanilla in small bowl until well blended. Add egg mixture to butter mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition.

Drop batter by large spoonfuls atop pecans and peaches in pan; spread evenly and gently with offset spatula or rubber spatula.

Bake cake until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Transfer cake to rack; cool in pan 25 to 30 minutes (do not cool longer or peach layer may stick to pan).

Run small knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place serving platter atop cake pan. Using oven mitts, firmly hold cake pan and platter together and invert cake onto platter. Let cake rest 1 minute, then very slowly lift off pan. If necessary, rearrange any peach wedges or pecans that may have become dislodged.

Let cool to room temperature. Cut cake into wedges. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

You can tell by my photo that I did not follow the directions for placing the pecans and peaches - my pecans were the end of a bag, and many were in pieces, so I just sprinkled them all over. My peaches were large, so I had more than 12 slices and I just nestled in as many as possible, then popped the remaining couple in my mouth for sweet, juicy snack. :o)

I'll be sure to post the other recipes these peaches were used in, but until then, I'd love to hear about how you enjoy consuming these lovelies. Leave a comment and/or a link to your favorite peach recipe!