I’ve had this recipe starred in my files for over a year. It comes from a wonderful baker who is also a dear friend, Greg Patent. You can sign up for more of his terrific baking recipes on his website https://thebakingwizard.com/.
Peach season is short and I’ve been waiting for them to get ripe enough to try this cake. Finding ripe peaches is a challenge. If they are hard as a baseball, then they rarely ripen juicy on the counter. I have learned to only buy them if they give a little when lightly pressed. Finally, after weeks of patiently searching, I found some at my nearby market. Finally, I got a chance to make the cake. Wow! It was really worth the wait!
The key to the cake is the CARAMEL that is poured over the peaches in the pan. Making caramel is easy. At least the way I do it ,which is the no-fuss method. I don’t do anything until I see the sugar begin to turn golden. Until then I only watch. It takes about 5 minutes. Be sure to use a light colored pan so you can see the sugar color. When the sugar begins to color, begin stirring. When it is golden all over, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the caramel over the peaches. Be sure to use a pot holder, the pan and caramel are hot.
The cake has a lovely texture, dense, but not at all dry and the juicy peaches crowning the top make this a dessert fit for royalty. Embellish with whipped cream or not, as you wish.
Pour water over the sugar in a light colored pan and cook over medium high heat. The sugar is beginning to melt.
The sugar begins boiling around the edges. Don’t stir.
The sugar is almost all boiling. Don’t stir. Just watch until it begins to color around the edges.
You can see the edges are turning color. It is now alright to stir.
Here’s the tricky part. The deeper the golden color, the more intense the caramel flavor. But too long and it can burn quickly. This is my favorite color. At this point, grab your hot pad and take it off the heat.
Carefully pour the caramel over the peaches. It will not cover them completely.
When you beat eggs into butter and sugar, the mixture will curdle. Don’t panic. This is normal.
Using a spatula, spread the batter to cover peaches. It is easiest to do this with an offset spatula, but not essential.
Some of the juice from the peaches will seep over the edges of the batter while you are spreading it. This is fine. No worries.
Just the right amount of cake beneath caramelized peaches.
CARAMELIZED PEACH UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan
3 large ripe peaches, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds, total, peeled (see note below) Peaches that are nearly ripe with a little give will still work well in this recipe.
Caramel
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Cake
1 cup (128 grams) all-purpose flour (see text on how to measure)
¼ teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, freshly grated preferred
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk, any fat percentage
1. Smear some of the 1 tablespoon butter onto the bottom and sides of a 9-inch layer cake pan. Line the pan bottom with a round of parchment and grease the parchment with the remaining butter. Do not use cooking spray.
2. Cut the peaches in half along their seams, remove pits and slice each peach half into 5 wedges. Arrange the slices, spoke fashion (or any way you like) in the prepared pan.
3. Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat to 350 degrees.
4. For the Caramel: Put ½ cup sugar into a small heavy saucepan, (a light colored pan, not black or dark, so you can see the sugar color) add the water and cook over moderate heat. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat and cook, without stirring, until the sugar begins browning around the edges. It is then OK to stir. Continue cooking until the sugar turns deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn. Grab a hot pad and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Carefully pour the hot caramel evenly over the peaches. Do not scrape out any caramel that sticks to the sides of the pan. The caramel may not cover the peaches completely.
5. To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg together. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium high and beat for 4 to 5 minutes until fluffy and light, stopping to scrape the bowl and beater once. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. The batter will look curdled. Scrape the bowl and stir in half the dry ingredients. Stir in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. The batter will be thick. Spread it evenly over the peaches.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and set the pan on a hot pad. Run a small sharp knife all around the sides of the cake, set a platter on top of the cake, and invert the two. Carefully lift the pan off the cake. If any peach slices have stuck to the pan, carefully set them back onto the cake.
The cake is best served the day it is made.
Makes 8 servings.
