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Peach Upside-Down Cake

Source of Recipe

From "Secrets of the Southern Table" by Virginia Willis


Recipe Introduction

"Southern peaches are something special. The trouble is, you pretty much have to live in the South to understand what the fuss is about, because peaches bought elsewhere are most often picked green and hard before shipping. When ag-entrepreneur Stephen Rose moved to Nashville in the summer of 2010, he made a disheartening discovery: No one was selling fresh, flavorful peaches like the kind he'd grown up with in Peach County, Georgia. He had an idea. He and his wife bought a 1964 Jeep truck and started selling big, beautiful, juicy Georgia peaches out of their cab in Nashville. Within five weeks, the city had consumed over ten tons of their brown-bagged peaches. Now the Peach Truck Tour travels through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania! Pineapple upside-down cake is a Southern classic and is most often made with canned pineapple. This version uses fresh peaches and is a vast improvement, in my opinion. You can use all-purpose flour instead of the cake flour, but the results will be a bit heavier and slightly dense."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 4 medium peaches (about 1 ½ pounds), unpeeled and cut into â…“-inch-thick wedges
â—¦ Juice of 1 lemon
â—¦ 1 cup cake flour, not self-rising
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon baking powder
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ 1 cup granulated sugar
â—¦ 10 tablespoons (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
â—¦ 2 large eggs
â—¦ ½ cup sour cream
â—¦ Whipped cream, for serving


Recipe

Heat oven to 350° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. (This step helps with cleanup.)

Toss the peaches with the lemon juice in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Cook ¼ cup of the granulated sugar over medium heat in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 10 minutes, or until the sugar melts and turns a deep amber color. Remove from the heat. Immediately add 2 tablespoons of the butter and stir vigorously. Arrange the peach wedges in concentric circles over the sugar mixture, overlapping them as needed.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the remaining ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup butter, and vanilla bean seeds on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add the sour cream and beat until blended. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until blended and stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Spoon the batter over the peaches in the skillet and spread to cover. Place the skillet on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the skillet on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge to loosen.

Carefully pour out any excess liquid from the skillet into a measuring cup and set aside. (It's okay if you don't have any excess liquid—it all depends on how juicy your fruit is.) Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate and drizzle with any reserved liquid. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Cut into wedges using a serrated knife. Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.

Serves 10