Fresh Peach Cake

Fresh Peach Cake

A perfect dessert for a warm August afternoon.  "Fresh Peach Cake" celebrates the taste of a tree ripened peach with a cake that is dense and rich, but not sweet.  An old-fashioned country dessert that will remind you of lazy summer afternoons.  A great choice for an August birthday cake!  This recipe is from the cookbook, "Lee Bailey's Country Desserts".  A great cookbook that I recommend to anyone looking for old-fashioned, southern style dessert recipes.

My birthday cake made by my daughter.

An old-fashioned birthday afternoon celebration with "Fresh Peach Cake" served on my Grandmother's Depression Glass plates and cake plate!

Cake
(Don't be intimidated if you've never made a cake from scratch!  This cake recipe is a great one to start with and is really very forgiving for beginners!) 
 
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons plus one teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1  1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup milk (use whole milk)
1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
9 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

Cream Filling
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Peach Filling
5 to 6 large peaches
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons sugar

Make cream filling first.  Mix cream, sugar and vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (use a metal bowl which is great for beating whipped cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease three 8-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with wax paper.  Grease the paper and lightly flour pan.  Set aside.

Sift the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the dry mixture in 4 parts, alternating with the milk and ending with the flour.  Mix in the vanilla.

Place the beaten egg whites on top of the mixture and fold in (use a rubber spatula) with an over-and-under motion.  Do not beat, but be sure it is well mixed.  Pour batter into cake pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean (toothpick).  Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks.  Let cool completely.

To assemble cake, dip peaches in hot water (not quite boiling) for about 10 seconds, place in a bowl of cold water (large mixing bowl with water and a few ice cubes).  Slip the skins off and cut each into about a dozen slices; discard pits.  Toss peach slices with the lemon juice and sugar.  Whip the chilled cream-sugar filling until it is stiff, then mix in the vanilla.

The peaches will have given up a bit of juice by now, so pour some of it over the bottom cake layer, a little at a time, to give it a chance to soak in.  Put a third of the peach slices on this bottom layer and cover with some whipped cream.  Repeat with the remaining layers, holding them in place with toothpicks if necessary. (I used some very thin wooden shish-ke-bob skewers after the cake was assembled to hold together and not slip during refrigeration, you can remove skewers when serving.)

Keep cake refrigerated, very loosely covered with foil or wax paper, until ready to serve. (This cake refrigerates well and actually gets better after refrigeration)
Serves 12-18

Note:  Cookbook reference, "Lee Bailey's Country Desserts", published by Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1988.