Peach Upside Down Cake
There’s something about peaches. They rigorously resist being good, out of season. We have all bought those lovely looking peaches from the opposite end of the world in the wrong season. And watched them go from hard to rotten with no intermediate ripe stage. But, when they are in season, and particularly if the supply-chain is short enough, then a few days at home produces the most wonderful fruit experience I know of. Not only that, but there usually are too many ripe at the same time! An embarrassment of riches.
For me, peaches have appeared at mythical moments in my life, all along the timeline of my days. From driving through the Okanagan on summer holidays in the early 60s in our first car – a black 1953 Chevrolet Bellaire. Eating giant peaches the colour of the sun in the back seat, bought from roadside stands. The unexpected blast of the juice soaking my hands, face and t-shirt. An almost-orgasmic explosion of sweet, tart, soft, juicy. A peak moment in my life and one I will never forget. And later, when married, we would get boxes of Okanagan peaches from the food coop (talk about Fair Trade far ahead of its time – from grower, to coop (of which we were a member-owner), to us. 1976.) In those days we were into canning (well, jarring). We had a pressure canner and would put up about 40 lbs of salmon each summer. And two boxes of peaches. The site of those lovely glass jars filled with pink salmon and golden peaches radiated the presence of summer, even in the winter.
In recent years, I have decided that when I retire, I want to live somewhere you can grow peaches. Why not? If peaches grow, then almost anything I would want can be grown too. And not only is it fruit that flourishes in that climate. I will too!
For me, peaches have appeared at mythical moments in my life, all along the timeline of my days. From driving through the Okanagan on summer holidays in the early 60s in our first car – a black 1953 Chevrolet Bellaire. Eating giant peaches the colour of the sun in the back seat, bought from roadside stands. The unexpected blast of the juice soaking my hands, face and t-shirt. An almost-orgasmic explosion of sweet, tart, soft, juicy. A peak moment in my life and one I will never forget. And later, when married, we would get boxes of Okanagan peaches from the food coop (talk about Fair Trade far ahead of its time – from grower, to coop (of which we were a member-owner), to us. 1976.) In those days we were into canning (well, jarring). We had a pressure canner and would put up about 40 lbs of salmon each summer. And two boxes of peaches. The site of those lovely glass jars filled with pink salmon and golden peaches radiated the presence of summer, even in the winter.
In recent years, I have decided that when I retire, I want to live somewhere you can grow peaches. Why not? If peaches grow, then almost anything I would want can be grown too. And not only is it fruit that flourishes in that climate. I will too!
One issue that used to come up back in the peach canning days was the question of variety. In those days we had a choice. Freestones or Clingstones? White or Red? It soon became clear that the old varieties were Clingstones, and often both a pain to peel and to stone. But the flesh was heavenly! The newer Freestone varieties were much easier to can – easy-peel and drop the stone – but weren’t as nice to eat. Your choice. Of course, breeding of peaches has continued on from those days. Now, no doubt, they are bred to be Freestone, to peel relatively easily and, most importantly, to travel well. And to respond to long term cold storage. You will note that taste is not on that list. This doesn’t mean that the fruit breeders don’t care about it. But rather that it has yet eluded them in their quest for the perfect mass market peach. (For an interesting account of this process and its impact on peach farmers, this book is very good. And perhaps a bit more accessibly, NPR did a feature on the Masumoto family and their peaches).
Which brings me to why I started making peach upside down cake again. Paraquayo Peaches.
Which brings me to why I started making peach upside down cake again. Paraquayo Peaches.
Also called the Saturn Peach (and even the ‘doughnut’ peach!), this variety was apparently originally from China, and imported into the USA in the 1870s. They are flatter than a normal peach, with red skin and light, sweet flesh. The skin is not too fuzzy and often easy to peel. They apparently flourish along Mediterranean Europe and one producer site says “Paraguayo peaches … however, are mostly consumed fresh. They are not particularly suitable for processing or prolonged storage in chambers, as a result of which they usually have the best aroma and flavour within the peach family. Their price also remains relatively stable during the short season.” My kind of peaches!
I noticed them first a few years ago in the Asian food shops, which have a different supply chain for fruit and vegetables than the monolith grocery multiples in Norway. Packed loose. In different stages of ripening. And yet, nurtured at home, they turned juicy, sweet and seemed to have that special peach taste that almost shocks the senses. In the last two years, they have appeared in the grocery multiples too. They are inexpensive, easy to ripen, and irresistible!
Which means I pick some up every time I hit a store to maintain a constant rotation of ripe fruit, from the very first time I see them in the store, to the very last. And this means that sometimes, I have more ripe peaches than even I can eat! Hence, Peach Upside Down Cake.
I noticed them first a few years ago in the Asian food shops, which have a different supply chain for fruit and vegetables than the monolith grocery multiples in Norway. Packed loose. In different stages of ripening. And yet, nurtured at home, they turned juicy, sweet and seemed to have that special peach taste that almost shocks the senses. In the last two years, they have appeared in the grocery multiples too. They are inexpensive, easy to ripen, and irresistible!
Which means I pick some up every time I hit a store to maintain a constant rotation of ripe fruit, from the very first time I see them in the store, to the very last. And this means that sometimes, I have more ripe peaches than even I can eat! Hence, Peach Upside Down Cake.
Upside down cakes have, in my experience, a variable reputation. In Canada, pineapple upside down cake was a rural and suburban staple, made with tinned pineapples. The results were always sweet. Very sweet. But often soggy and, to me, the pineapple sweated a kind of formaldehyde-smell when baked. Yet these cakes are a reliable go-to when you have an excess of fruit, of any variety. And good ones, with a light, sweet sponge, can be very good indeed. Enough to make me want to develop a recipe that worked.
And I think I have found one. This is an amalgam of various versions I found on the internet. It works particularly well with Paraguayos. It might be a bit sweet, but overall, is well balanced. The key is to whip the egg whites, making a really light sponge. And yet, unlike, say, an Anglefood Cake, it is not too much faff.
There are a few distinctive things to this recipe, for me. The first is the use of unskinned half peaches. With Paraguayos, this works perfectly. By the time the cake is cooked, the skins are soft and easily eatable. Cutting the peaches in half, horizontally, and pulling the nut makes preparation of the fruit so easy. And the bigger chunks of fruit balance the sponge really well – I think that a good upside down cake should have a balance of about 30% fruit and 70% sponge – or even higher!
The other issue is that I like a bit of depth to a cake like this. As a result, I use a smaller spring-form pan in order to make the sponge a bit thicker. Instead of a 11 inch pan, I use a 9 inch one. Mass-production, this ain’t!
And I think I have found one. This is an amalgam of various versions I found on the internet. It works particularly well with Paraguayos. It might be a bit sweet, but overall, is well balanced. The key is to whip the egg whites, making a really light sponge. And yet, unlike, say, an Anglefood Cake, it is not too much faff.
There are a few distinctive things to this recipe, for me. The first is the use of unskinned half peaches. With Paraguayos, this works perfectly. By the time the cake is cooked, the skins are soft and easily eatable. Cutting the peaches in half, horizontally, and pulling the nut makes preparation of the fruit so easy. And the bigger chunks of fruit balance the sponge really well – I think that a good upside down cake should have a balance of about 30% fruit and 70% sponge – or even higher!
The other issue is that I like a bit of depth to a cake like this. As a result, I use a smaller spring-form pan in order to make the sponge a bit thicker. Instead of a 11 inch pan, I use a 9 inch one. Mass-production, this ain’t!
Sponge
190 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs, separated
265 g sugar
½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract, Grand Marnier Brandy or other flavouring.
½ cup (125 ml) milk
Peaches
4 - 5 Peaches, cut in half with pits removed
¼ cup (60 ml) honey
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
190 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs, separated
265 g sugar
½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract, Grand Marnier Brandy or other flavouring.
½ cup (125 ml) milk
Peaches
4 - 5 Peaches, cut in half with pits removed
¼ cup (60 ml) honey
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
The process consists of three stages. First start with the cake tin and peaches. Then make the sponge. Then pour it over and bake. That’s all.
So, take your springform pan and butter it really well. [I usually sit pans like this on a baking sheet because they inevitably leak if I don’t. And of course, if I do, there’s no leak at all!] Dribble the honey over the bottom of the pan and then sprinkle the sugar over it. Squeeze half a lemon over it all.
Take your peaches and halve and stone them. Lay them, cut side down, in the bottom of the cake tin. Try and fill it up as best you can, packing them in tightly. The effect you are trying to create is a solid surface of golden peaches, so try and arrange it so this happens, meaning you will be seeing the side of the peach covered with skin.
To make the sponge, measure out the dry ingredients. Separate the eggs and whip the whites, gradually adding 160 g of sugar as you do. Stop when the egg whites are stiff.
In a third bowl, cream the butter with the remaining sugar, the egg yolks and flavouring. Most basic recipes stipulate vanilla, but these days I tend to use Grand Marnier, and it works very good in this. Add the mixed dry ingredients with the butter mixture. Once well mixed, gently fold the egg whites into the batter. As ever with a sponge, be gentle at all steps. That way you don’t beat the air out of the sponge.
Pour the batter over the peaches in the cake tin. Set in a preheated oven at 180C, and bake for 50 minutes. Check it at 45 minutes, but my experience is that this is a very damp batter and needs a long time to cook. I poke a bbq stick in to test it. If it doesn’t come out dry, it probably needs another five or ten minutes. When ready, let it cool for fifteen minutes. Once it is on its way to cool, run a pallet knife around the edge and remove the sides of the pan. Whether served warm or cool, it can’t be beat.
enjoy!
So, take your springform pan and butter it really well. [I usually sit pans like this on a baking sheet because they inevitably leak if I don’t. And of course, if I do, there’s no leak at all!] Dribble the honey over the bottom of the pan and then sprinkle the sugar over it. Squeeze half a lemon over it all.
Take your peaches and halve and stone them. Lay them, cut side down, in the bottom of the cake tin. Try and fill it up as best you can, packing them in tightly. The effect you are trying to create is a solid surface of golden peaches, so try and arrange it so this happens, meaning you will be seeing the side of the peach covered with skin.
To make the sponge, measure out the dry ingredients. Separate the eggs and whip the whites, gradually adding 160 g of sugar as you do. Stop when the egg whites are stiff.
In a third bowl, cream the butter with the remaining sugar, the egg yolks and flavouring. Most basic recipes stipulate vanilla, but these days I tend to use Grand Marnier, and it works very good in this. Add the mixed dry ingredients with the butter mixture. Once well mixed, gently fold the egg whites into the batter. As ever with a sponge, be gentle at all steps. That way you don’t beat the air out of the sponge.
Pour the batter over the peaches in the cake tin. Set in a preheated oven at 180C, and bake for 50 minutes. Check it at 45 minutes, but my experience is that this is a very damp batter and needs a long time to cook. I poke a bbq stick in to test it. If it doesn’t come out dry, it probably needs another five or ten minutes. When ready, let it cool for fifteen minutes. Once it is on its way to cool, run a pallet knife around the edge and remove the sides of the pan. Whether served warm or cool, it can’t be beat.
enjoy!
