Peach Bundt Cake

During these hot, humid Southern summers of Alabama, one of my most favorite things is a juicy, ripe peach. I can remember going to the farmers market as a little girl to buy straw lattice baskets of fresh, ripe peaches with their fuzzy flesh and sweet smell perfuming the humid air. Peaches are my favorite fruit and when summer comes, I look forward to utilizing them in as many ways as I can.

I found the recipe for this delicious peach bundt cake quite by accident and I am so glad I did. Bundt cakes are so versatile and very easy to put together - you mix a batter, pour it in a pan, and bake. Although they do take a while in the oven, they are a lot less fussy than a layer cake since you do not have to worry about cooling, splitting layers, frosting, etc. This cake is just flipped out of its pan, cooled twenty minutes, and topped with a very simple glaze. It can be eaten warm or room temperature, and tastes like peach cobbler in cake form. A dense yet moist, cinnamon-scented vanilla cake studded with bursts of sweet, ripe juicy Southern peaches. Could there be anything better?

I made this cake for my Memaw's birthday and it turned out just like her - sweet and southern.

Try it soon - you won't regret it!

Peach Bundt Cake
slightly adapted from blessherheart.typepad.com

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup peach puree (1-3 peaches pureed in blender or food processor)
• 2 cups peaches, peeled and diced (about 6 peaches)

For the glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 2-3 tbsp peach nectar (find it in the fruit juice aisle - I used Kearn's brand)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 10 inch bundt pan with baking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, lightly beating after the addition of each egg.

4. Add the vanilla extract and beat.

5. Add the sour cream and peach puree and lightly beat to incorporate.

6. Add the flour mixture in three separate batches, mixing on the lowest setting possible after each addition - do not over mix.

7. Gently fold in the peaches

8. Pour batter into pre-greased bundt pan, and smooth the top.

9. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake, rotating the sheet about halfway through the baking time, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert the pan on the rack to turn the cake out; let cool completely on the rack.

10. To make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the peach juice into the confectioners' sugar, adding the juice gradually, so that the glaze is just liquid enough to pour easily but still opaque. Place a sheet pan under the cooling rack. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing the excess to drip onto the baking sheet. Allow the glaze to cool completely for 30 minutes, then serve.

January Daring Bakers Challenge: Vanilla Tuiles with Lemon Mousse Filling & Raspberry Peach Drizzle

I am so excited to post my very first Daring Bakers Challenge! I actually joined last month, but was unable to complete the challenge due to some unforseen circumstances.

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day! and Zorra at 1x unruhren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angelique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I loved this challenge! It was a great one for a first, because it was simple, easy, and fun. It was also the first time I had made tuiles (pronounced "tweels"). Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Tuiles can be sweet or savory, so the possibilities with these are truly endless! If you are having some dinner guests over and need an impressive looking dessert, this one would be great to try.

But enough rambling, on to the recipe!

Vanilla Tuiles with Lemon Mousse Filling & Raspberry Peach Drizzle

Basic Vanilla Tuiles Ingredients:

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones.

Lemon Mousse Ingredients:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 egg
6 tablespoons butter, diced
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions:

In a large, heavy bottomed stainless steel saucepan combine the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, egg, and butter. Over medium-high heat, whisk the mixture constantly until thickened. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl set over ice and chill, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Fold in the whipped cream, wrap with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.


Raspberry Peach Drizzle Ingredients:

1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (I used Smuckers Simply Fruit)
1 good glug Peach Schnapps (you can also substitute peach nectar)

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a small bowl, and put in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, just enough to melt the jam a little bit. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a small plastic baggie, and snip a small piece of the corner off to make a piping bag. Use to decorate the plate and the tuiles after they are assembled.

Tuile Assembly Directions:

1. First, prepare your tuile batter and refrigerate.

2. While the batter is in the fridge, prepare your lemon mousse. Please note that it is very important to use a stainless steel bowl (I used my stainless steel bain marie) since you are working with eggs. If you do not have a stainless steel saucepan, I would cook the lemon juice/sugar mixture until the sugar dissolves, and use a little bit of that warm mixture to temper your eggs before adding them in. Otherwise, you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your mousse, which is what happened to me the first time.

3. Bake your tuiles. I used a sheet of parchment paper, and traced around a coffee cup to use as a guide. Then, I spread on my batter in a very thin, very even layer. I only baked two at a time, because after these things come out of the oven, they firm up quick and you want them to stay malleable. I used the handles of my pizza cutter and vegetable peeler to shape them around.

4. Once your tuiles are baked and shaped, fill them with lemon mousse using a piping bag or plastic baggie with corner snipped off.

5. Put them on a plate, then prepare your raspberry drizzle and drizzle over the tuiles.

6. Serve and enjoy!

These are wonderfully tart, sweet, and yummy. Raspberry and lemon is always a great combination!

Peach Pie Smoothie

This Peach Pie Smoothie recipe is really great. It's easy to do, it's tasty, and it's even healthy! My husband is a type 1 diabetic (to learn more, visit www.jdrf.org - it's a great organization), so I'm always on the lookout for easy and healthy recipes. This makes a great breakfast on the go. Sometimes, I'll mix up all the ingredients except the frozen peaches the night before and store it in a container. The next morning, I'll just combine it in a blender with the peaches.It has no fat, 240 calories. It is a little high in carbs; but, it does have a lot of fruit in it. So, it least it's natural sugars from the fruit and honey. It's also a good source of calcium, fiber, and vitamin C. However, please don't be mislead by the name of this recipe. It really is a yogurt smoothie with some peaches and spice. It's not going to taste exactly like a slice of decadent peach pie. It's easy to tweak according to your tastes, too. Use vanilla or peach flavored yogurt; add more spices; or more vanilla. Any way you make it, it's healthy and refreshing. Try it for breakfast today!

Peach Pie Smoothie

courtesy of Ellie Kreiger, Food Network

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup nonfat or 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 cup frozen unsweetened peaches
• 1 tablespoon honey, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground ginger
  

Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories 240; Total Fat 0 g; (Sat Fat 0 g, Mono Fat 0 g, Poly Fat 0 g) ; Protein 12 g; Carb 49 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 150 mg