Category: Upside-Down Cake

This is a recipe I had intended to publish months ago – as in the height of the summer season, when peaches are at their best. Unfortunately, time slipped away from me. (Can it really be the first day of November already?) I could have put this recipe off until next summer, but I was afraid I’d let it slip into obscurity, and this cake is far too moist and yummy to let that happen. So here it is – a well intended share, even if it is a little late in the year.

On a beautiful Saturday morning this past summer, Hubby and I were at our local Farmers Market. I love wandering around the market, with all the colors and smells of fresh picked fruits. One stand in particular had the most luscious selection of yellow and white peaches. At fifty-cents a peach, how could I resist? Besides, we were having a wonderful country-style barbecue later that day, and what could be better than a southern-style up-side-down cake for dessert? (Isn’t it funny that we think of the south when we think of peaches? You know, Georgia Peach – yet peaches actually were first cultivated in China.) Hubby and I picked out several of each, some for baking, some for eating. These peaches were packed with juice, and eating them became a sticky proposition. Hubby finally resorted to eating his peach over the kitchen sink.

Kiddo isn’t much of a fresh fruit kind of guy, but he loved the peach topped cake. His approval is always a plus in my book.

NOTE: The recipe below is for an Almond-Flour cake from scratch. However; if baking from scratch isn’t your thing, you could use a yellow cake mix. Just add a little Almond Extract to the batter, and soldier on.

Peachy Almond Up-Side-Down Skillet Cake
1 stick unsalted butter plus 1 tablespoon, at room temperature
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3 medium yellow peaches, pitted and cut into 6 wedges each
1 medium white peach, pitted and cut into 6 wedges each
3/4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup whole milk
French Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add 3/4 cup brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until smooth and deep golden brown, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and arrange sliced peaches over top to create a “swirling” pattern. Layer center with white peaches, outer “ring” with regular peaches. If necessary, trim peaches to fit. (Reserve any remaining peach slices to garnish over ice cream, if desired). If your peaches leave a lot of juice on your cutting board, add the juices to the batter for a more “peachy” flavored cake.

Combine the flour, almonds, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground.

Beat the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup white sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat in each addition until just incorporated.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 30 minutes. Run a very thin knife around rim, invert cake onto a plate and let cool completely. Serve with ice cream.