Ginger Peach Cake
The secret to this cake is
buying the best peaches possible. I wait
every year for Local Peaches to come in season. They are so addictively
delicious. I sauté the peaches in butter and a little ginger and sugar. The Peaches are inside the cake, in between
the layers, and on the outside.
INGREDIENTS:
Sautéed Peaches (x2 all items)
1 ½ lbs (about 3 cups) sliced peaches for inside
of cake.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
a pinch of kosher salt or sea salt
Double these
ingredients when you buy them because you do 3c for inside and 3c for in between
the layers.
If you want more
peaches for decorating the outside of the cake you need to buy more as well.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
Depending upon my mood.
For the Cake:
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ lbs of peaches (cooks down to about 1 ½ cups
cooked peaches (note: 1 ½ lbs is about
three cups of fresh cut peaches which will then cook down to about 1 ½ cups. --
Also remember to reserve the liquid from the cooked peaches for the frosting.
For the Frosting:
1 ½ 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened
1 ½ sticks
of unsalted butter,
softened
1 ½ lbs
powdered sugar
1/4 cup
of peach syrup (liquid after
you cook the peaches)
(if you like A LOT of frosting in between your layers and on top
do 2 cups/lbs/ sticks of cream cheese, butter, and sugar instead of 1 ½ )
SAUTÉ PEACHES FOR THE INSIDE OF
THE CAKE:
(You can of course sauté all your peaches together at the same time
when you make them in between the layers as well, but I like to do them separate
so I have the right amount of liquid.)
Peel and cut
your peaches. Peaches are going inside
the cake so you can decided if you want larger or smaller slices. Heat a large skillet to medium high
heat. Add butter and peaches. Sprinkle with sugar. (if the peaches are not naturally sweet you may need more
sugar. The peaches I use are very sweet and only need a little
sugar) Add ground ginger and a pinch of salt. Drain liquid. Set both
aside to cool. Don’t throw away liquid.
FOR THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter
and flour 2 8-inch-round cake pans. Set aside.
In a mixing
bowl cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add
the eggs one at a time, mixing them completely into the butter mixture after
each addition.
In a
separate bowl combine all of the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking
powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix or sift together well. Add the
dry ingredient mixture alternately with the sour cream. Stir in the
vanilla extract.
Fold in 1 1/2 cups of the cooked peaches into
the cake batter. Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Baked for
40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (While
the cake is cooking I usually sauté my peaches for in between the layers)
Remove cakes
from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then invert onto cooling racks to finish
cooling.
SAUTÉED PEACHES FOR IN BETWEEN
THE LAYERS:
Peel and cut
your peaches. Heat a large
skillet to medium high heat. Add butter and peaches. Sprinkle with
sugar, ground ginger, and a pinch of salt. Separate into 3 different bowls
equally. (Don’t drain the liquid like before, you need it this time!)
FROSTING:
With the paddle attachment mix together your cream
cheese, butter, and powdered sugar in your mixer until well blended. Mix
in reserved peach syrup from your cooked peaches. This step is up to you. It depends on the consistently you want your
frosting. If you need yours a little
more stiff add more powdered sugar if not add more peach syrup.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE:
After your cake is cooled (you can also freeze it for later) cut each layer
in half so you have 4 layers. You can do
it with a knife or use my mom’s string technique. J
(Now if you don’t want to cut your layers,
you don’t have to. You can just have 2 larger layers. Maybe I’ll try that next time. You can really do it however you want.)
Put a little frosting on the base of your
cake stand/platter for a “glue”.
Lay down your first layer and take a chop
stick (or whatever tool you want) and poke
your cake all over.
Then take 1 of your sautéed peach bowls (with
the syrup) and scatter over the layer evenly.
Try to keep the juice an inch away from the edge so they don’t get too
soft.
Take your frosting and spread it over the
peaches CAREFULLY. I usually dollop the
cream cheese over the peaches in different places so when I spread it, it doesn’t
pull up the peaches too much.
Add your next layer and repeat the last step
until all your layers are on. Once you’re
down to placing your top layer I like to turn it upside down so it is more flat
and uniform and you don’t have to worry about all the crumbs when you put your
frosting on the outside.
And the last step is to cover it with the
remaining frosting and add peaches to the outside if you want!
Enjoy!
