With bits of fruit mixed right into the cake batter, a layer of freshly made preserves, and nectar-sweetened cream cheese frosting, this cake is about as peachy as it gets! And yet, the flavor is not overwhelming — sweet and summery and bright — this Peach Layer Cake is sure to delight and impress.
My darling daughter, Harriet, turned one this week. Sigh. Despite all of my cynicism pre-motherhood, I am totally one of those moms who likes to take a million pictures of their child wearing ridiculous outfits…So needless to say, I had my heart set on getting one of those cliche pictures of baby covered in cake and frosting at her first birthday party. However, the thought of loading baby up with the metric ton of sugar found in most birthday cakes was cause for hesitation, even despite the insanely adorable mental image I’d been nurturing for weeks of Harriet’s sweet little face plastered in pink frosting. I decided to compromise: there would be cake, but it would at least have plenty of fruit in it. So, cake + frosting + fruit = healthy…right? Right!
Okay, so this may not be exactly healthy, but it is seasonal, it is delicious, and it does indeed have lots of fruit in it…for whatever that’s worth. This recipe is my own — created by combining about 5 diverse recipes (none of which was for peach cake) with a little guesswork and a lot of luck, but I will definitely be making it again soon — it was a big hit.
Ingredients:
– 5 c. fresh ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 7 medium peaches, plus one for decorating, if desired)
– 1 c. sugar
– 4 c. flour
– 2 tsp. baking powder
– 2 tsp. baking soda
– 1 tsp. salt
– 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
– 1 c. butter, room temperature
– 1 c. brown sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp. vanilla
– 2/3 c. milk
– 1/3 c. sour cream
– 2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature
– 1 c. powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Prepare your peaches. Peaches should be ripe, but not overripe. Try to dice them into fairly small bits, but don’t worry yourself too much — the fruit will break down quite a bit throughout the cooking process
2. Put peaches into a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and cook with 1/4c. water
3. Stir frequently and bring to a boil
4. Add 1/4 c. of the sugar, stir well, return to a boil. Remove from heat
5. Preheat oven to 350F
6. In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg
7. In a separate bowl (use an electric mixer if you have one) cream together the remaining 3/4 c. of sugar, the brown sugar, and the butter
8. Add eggs, one at a time, to the creamed butter/sugar
9. Add vanilla, milk, and sour cream to the liquids and mix well
10. Add your dry ingredients to the wet. Mix well
11. Fold in 1 1/2 c. of your cooked peaches
12. Grease and flour 4 cake/pie tins (You can do this in batches if you don’t have enough tins)
13. Distribute batter evenly amongst tins
14. Bake in oven at 350F for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and a skewer or knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean
15. Allow cakes to cool for 20-30 minutes before (carefully!) removing them from tins.
Now, for the frosting…
16. Measure out 1 c. of your cooked peaches, trying to include as much of the juice from the pan as possible. Put peaches with juice into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth
17. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat both packages of cream cheese until smooth and creamy and free of lumps
18. Add powdered sugar, beat well
19. Add blended peach puree to frosting and mix well. (You can also add food coloring if you like — I added two drops of red plus three yellow to make a “peach” colored frosting)
20. Make sure that your cakes are completely cooled. Transfer the first one to a cake stand or serving platter
21. Using a sharp, serrated knife carefully create a flat work surface by shaving any rounded part of the cake, as shown below. You can also flip each cake upside-down — using the bottom of each cake as your flat surface as you work your way through the layers. I usually evaluate each as I go along
22. On the top of your first cake, heap about 1/4 of your frosting and spread just to the edges
23. Place your second cake directly onto of your first
24. Create your smooth surface, then spread the remainder of your cooked peaches (you should have about 3/4-1c. left) over the top of the second cake
25. Place your third cake directly on top of your second, create a smooth surface, and then cover with an additional 1/4 of the frosting
26. Place your final cake on top of the third
27. Cover top and sides of cake evenly with frosting
Don’t stress if your cake doesn’t look perfect — it takes lots of practice. As you can see, my frosting skills need a lot of work!
You can slice an additional peach if you’d like to decorate the top. Peach candies would also be a really cute way to decorate.
I think Harriet liked her cake….
This is one of those things that I actually think tastes even better the day after you make it — the preserves saturate the cake beneath it making it super moist and yummy….Enjoy!
theindiehomemaker 