Bake The Fabulous by Heidi
Juicy Peach Cake with a zingy Twist (by Heidi)
Do
you know the feeling? Come Sunday and you are really in a baking kind
of mood – but some ingredients are missing! What a bummer! My neighbours
actually knocked on my door last Sunday and asked if they could borrow
some eggs for a cake. Well, I just put my last three eggs into this one…
If you are not big on planning your bakery shopping either, this might
be the perfect recipe for you. You don't need many ingredients. And
those you need could just be sitting in your kitchen cupboard and your
fridge.
As I rarely ever use butter in my everyday nutrition it was always
the one ingredient missing for baking. Now I've made it quite a habit to
buy a few packs regularly which I then store in the freezer.
I also make sure I never run out of flour, sugar or baking powder.
And don't underestimate the advantages of having a few glasses or cans
of preserved fruit at home. Sweet cherries are always in my kitchen
cupboard and so are peaches or pineapple. Let's get started with this
juicy little number – just perfect for summer!
What you need for 1 Juicy Peach Cake with a zingy Twist
26cm cake tin + a little butter for greasing + a little flour fur dusting
(if you use a smaller tin you possibly need to extend the baking time – check with a wooden stick)
Icing sugar for dusting the cake
For the dough
3 medium sized egg yolks – at room temperature
155 g plain all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon baking powder
155g caster sugar
175g butter – at room temperature
Zest (finely grated) of 1 medium sized organic lemon (you don't want nasty chemicals in your cake)
Zest (finely grated) of 1/2 organic orange
80g medium fat curd or yogurt
For the topping
1 can (400g) peaches/nectarines or apricots
you can alternatively use 3-4 fresh peaches, depending on size
To serve (For those of you who want to go OTT)
200 ml single cream or double cream
1 table spoon vanilla sugar
Zest (finely grated) of 1/2 organic orange
Time in the oven @ 155°C (Fan)
55 minutes
1. Butter 'n' eggs – a match made in baking-hell?!
One
thing I don't like about using butter and eggs at room temperature is
that I literally always forget to take them out of the fridge in time.
My baking urge always comes too spontaneously. Well, this time I did
take them out in time. The eggs actually already the night before and
the butter (from the fridge) 3 hours prior to baking. But still, they
didn't blend well together in the dough. When that happens I usually
place the bowl in a pot with warm water for a couple of minutes and then
whisk it up again. This usually does the trick. But this time I just
couldn't be bothered (it was too early in the morning)… and surprisingly
it didn't really make a difference to the cake's fluffy texture.
If you know a trick or two how to really get butter and eggs to have the same room temperature – please let me know!
2. Be a Prep-Queen
I am always more relaxed when I have all my ingredients and tools prepared before I start mixing the dough.
Preheat your oven.
Grease your cake tin with butter. I always use
kitchen paper to hold the butter – I don't like my fingers all buttery.
Put 1 table spoon of flour in your tin and shake the tin from side to
side to get it covered evenly (also on the sides)
Weigh the butter, sugar, flour, curd/yogurt and put in separate bowls. Mix flour and baking powder together and sift.
I also like to break the eggs open into a bowl before I put them in the dough – just in case one is dodgy.
Drain your canned peaches (keep some juice – should the dough get a
little dry it comes in handy) and slice them. If you are using fresh
fruit you can leave the skin on. But if you feel like being an
overachiever – dip them in boiling water and peel off the skin.
Zest the lemon and orange just before you are ready to go as it loses
its flavor when it dries. Zesting can be quite a pain in the … but I
have this amazing new zester – Christmas present from my lovely mom. It
is from a company called Microplane and is sharp as hell – I really have
to watch my fingers! It is also amazing for grating parmesan or ginger
(I loooove fresh ginger tea).
3. Whisk up a swirl...
Put the sugar, flour mix and zest into
a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until the sugar has dissolved
(the finer the sugar you are using the quicker it dissolves) and until
the texture is creamy and very light in colour. This will take up to 8
minutes – and again, I cannot thank my Kitchen Aid enough for doing the
job for me.
Add one egg at a time and whisk thoroughly in between.
Now add the flour-baking-powder-mix and the curd/yogurt and mix until all is evenly combined (20 seconds should be enough).
With
the help of a spatula spoon the dough into your cake tin. The peach
slices go on top of it in whatever fashion you like – neat or messy
arrangement – whatever suits your mood.
4. The Grand Finale
Check with a wooden skewer or chop stick
if the cake's done (there should be no dough on your stick when you pull
it out). Leave to cool in the tin. But if you cannot wait to taste it –
take it out right away and let it cool at least a little while on a
wire rack.
Should you feel like indulging completely whip up the single cream with
an electric mixer and slowly add the vanilla sugar while doing so. Once
the cream is whipped add the orange zest and combine. If you are using
double cream just add the vanilla sugar and zest and mix well.
Now serve with your cake! Mhhhhhhh…..
