Wishful Thinking

All of this beautiful weather has me wishing for Summer to arrive. While I must wait patiently for several more months, I did indulge my craving for peaches this morning. I love the flavors of sweet peach, almond, and brown sugar with my morning coffee.

Buttermilk Peach Coffee Cake

Adapted from Tish Boyle’s recipe

Crumb Topping and Filling

1 cup flour

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup rolled oats or raw sliced almonds

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Buttermilk Peach Cake

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 heaping cup 1/4-inch-thick fresh or frozen peach slices

Make the Topping and Filling

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and oats until well blended. Add the melted butter and mix with fork, stirring until the butter is absorbed and the dry ingredients are uniformly moistened. Set aside.

2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour.

Make the Cake

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the buttermilk in two additions.

3. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle half of the crumb topping evenly over batter, breaking up any large clumps with your fingers.

4. Arrange a circle of peach slices, overlapping them slightly, around the outer edge of the pan. Arrange another circle of remaining slices in the center. Spoon the remaining batter onto the filling and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of cake.

5. Bake the cake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (do not worry if the top of cake looks a bit wet). You may cover the cake around the 45 minute mark if the top is browning too quickly.

6. Remove the pan from oven and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove the sides of pan and cool the cake completely. 

Fresh from the Farm

My friend and former co-worker, Heidi, comes from a family of farmers. I knew when she brought in an olallieberry crisp for breakfast on her first day of work that we would be fast friends. Heidi was kind enough to share her family recipe for the crisp, which can be used for all sorts of fruits. I love making it with mixed berries during the summer but I’ve also used it for peaches and apricots.

This is my adaptation of her recipe. I used a two pound mix of Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and sliced.

Farmer's Crisp

Crisp Topping

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

Filling

5-6 cups fruit

1/2 cup sugar* (see note below)

2 tablespoons flour

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Topping: Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in medium mixing bowl and stir together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add beaten egg and stir in mixture with a fork. Mixture should be crumbly.

Filling: Put the fruit in a large bowl. Stir in the flour and sugar; add the fruit and lightly toss the fruit to coat. Spoon coated fruit into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish and sprinkle the crisp mixture on top. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the crisp mixture. Bake approximately 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

*If you are using very tart fruit, like blackberries or olallieberries, increase the sugar in the fruit filling to 3/4 cup.