Peach Bourbon Upside Down Cake

Lovey likes to go through my magazines as they arrive and select a dessert for me to try.  This turned out to be a nice cake and a way to use some peaches I had that needed to be used before they went bad on me.

Like any upside down cake the fruit is placed in the bottom of the pan with a butter/sugar mixture then the batter is poured on top.  This is how the fruit looks when first turned out of the pan.

It's a dense cake, almost like a pound cake, so the light glaze was a nice compliment. 

 

 We ate most of it as a breakfast cake.

Peach Bourbon Upside Down Cake
From June 2018 issue of Southern Living
Serves 12

Ingredients: 
1-3/4 cups butter, softened, divided
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar, divided
4 peaches, peeled and cut into 4 slices
1 - 8 ounce pkg cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup (2 ounces) bourbon
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp. milk

Method:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a small saucepan over medium, stir in 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Pour mixture evenly into a 15-cup (10-1/2 inch) Bundt pan that has been heavily greased with cooking spray. Place peach slices in an even layer on top of brown sugar mixture.

Beat cream cheese and remaining 1-1/2 cups butter with a heavy-duty stand mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add granulated sugar and remaining 1-1/2 cups  brown sugar, beating on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yolk disappears. Beat in 1 tsp. of the vanilla.

Sift together flour and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with bourbon, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter carefully over peaches in prepared pan; level with a spatula.

Bake in preheated oven until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 1 hour and 25 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack until pan is cool enough to handle but still hot, about 25 minutes. Remove cake from pan to rack, and cool completely, about 2 hours.

Stir together confectioner's sugar, remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1 Tbsp. of the milk in a small bowl, adding remaining 1 Tbsp. milk, 1 tsp at a time, if needed to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake. 

Southern Peach Cobbler

 When I selected my peaches at the market, they were perfectly shaped, colored and ripe .  When I leave the market I hand the sacker-boy my bag of hand selected peaches and ask him to pack separately with care which translates "Don't throw them into a bag. I would like to get home with fruit that's not bruised."  What did he do?  He placed them in their own private bag and literally tossed them in the cart. Oh well....

This is a very simple recipe to prepare.   

Peel and slice your peaches.
Place stick of butter in a 9-1/2" x 11" baking dish and place in a preheated  350°F oven.

Mix the batter in a large measuring cup.  Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and sugar.  Remove baking pan from oven and pour the batter into the  baking dish.  Yes, you are an observant individual....I did not take a photo of the batter.
 

Gently place the peaches on top of the batter.  Place in the oven for about 30 minutes and this is what will emerge.

 

See how the batter gently folded over the peach slices? Pure deliciousness. Especially with vanilla ice cream 

Peach Cobbler
Adapted from Nathalie Dupree's "New Southern Cooking" 
Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour, preferably soft-wheat
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups peaches, peeled and sliced, juices reserved

Method:
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Put the butter in a 9-by-13-inch ovenproof serving dish and place in the oven to melt.  

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and stir in the milk and sugar to make a batter.  Remove the hot dish with the melted butter from the oven and pour in the batter.  Spoon the peaches and then the peaches over the batter.  Place the dish back in the oven and bake until the batter is browned and has risen up and around the fruit, about 30 minutes.

Strawberries and Cream Cake

Lovey selected this clipping from the April 2013 issue of Southern Living.

I'll just say up front that this cake is very easy but takes a lot of time to create.  A lot of that time is everything cooling off in the refrigerator.  They should call this Patience Cake

There are three components: the cake layers, a strawberry jam filling and a strawberry frosting.

It will make it easier on you if you start the jam and the cake layers a day or two ahead of serving.

For the Jam

Begin by slicing up or roughly chopping fresh strawberries then mashing them up with a potato masher.  A pastry blender gets the job done as well.

Add sugar, blend and let stand for about half an hour.  (There's 1/2 hour waiting)



Bring this to a boil over medium heat; let boil for 5 minutes.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in strawberry gelatin until dissolved.  Let this sit and cool for about an hour (another hour of waiting).



Once cooled pour into a covered container and refrigerate for 8 hours. (we're up to 9-1/2 hours waiting now).


Once the jam is in hibernation, make the cake layers.



You will be making six 8-inch layers.  I just happened to have 6 throw-away tins so I used those.  They've been taking up cabinet space for more time than they are worth.



Grease and flour each cake pan.




Separate the eggs.  There are a lot of eggs in this cake.




Measure out the dry ingredients and the oil, lemon juice and water.




Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl then make a well in the center.



Add the oil, lemon juice, water and egg yolks and beat 3 or 4 minutes until smooth.

I mixed up the batter with my hand mixer because I'm going to use the stand mixer for the egg whites.



Sugar and cream of tartar will be added to the egg whites.



Beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar at medium-high until soft peaks form.



Gradually add the sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.



Gently stir about a fourth of the egg white mixture into the cake batter.


Gently fold in the remaining egg white mixture into the batter.



Spoon batter into the cake pans, dividing equally.



Smooth tops with an offset spatula.



Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  The instructions called for 12 - 15 minutes of baking time but I baked them for about 20 minutes before a cake tester came out clean.



After resting in the pans for about 10 minutes, remove from pans and allow to cool completely on wire racks, about an hour.  (we're up to 11 hours cooling time now)

I covered the cake layers and began the assembly the next day. 

Cover a cake board with foil and place one layer on the cake board


Give the chilled jam a good stir and spread about 2/3 cup on top of the first layer, leaving  1/4" border around the edges.



Repeat with the remaining layers but do not spread any jam on the top layer.  You will have jam left over.

Now, wrap the complete assembly in plastic wrap and, you guessed it.....put it in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours.  (we now have a tally of 19 to 35 hours of chill time)

Now it's time to ice the cake.  I was so tired of working on this thing that I didn't even take photos of making the frosting.  Again, like every step in this recipe it was very simple and easy; nothing difficult.  The magazine photos of the finished cake showed the icing to be as smooth as a baby's butt.  Mine definitely didn't look as pristine.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that once the cake is iced.... it has to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours.

It was impressive and showy

It was also very tasty; but here's the thing...

After the first bite, Lovey and I looked at each other and said, "Tastes just like strawberry shortcake".  And it did.  Lawzy Mercy!  Next time I'm wanting something like this I'll just make shortcake from scratch, cut up some fresh berries and top with whipped cream!

But if you want to make an impressive looking cake that tastes just like strawberry shortcake here is how to do it.

Strawberries and Cream Cake
Adapted from the April 2013 issue of Southern Living
Serves 12

The Strawberry Jam Filling

Ingredients:

2 pounds whole strawberries

2-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin

Method:

Wash and slice  or roughly chop strawberries. Using a pastry cutter mash the berries so you have  4 cups mash.

Stir together the strawberries and sugar in a large saucepan; allow to sit and macerate for 30 minutes.

Bring strawberry mixture to a boil over medium heat; boil 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in gelatin until dissolved; cool completely (about 1 hour).  Cover and chill for 8 hours.

The Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted cake flour

2-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. table salt

1-1/4 cups sugar, divided

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

4 large egg yolks

1/4 cup water

8 large egg whites

1 tsp. cream of tartar

Method:  

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour 6 8-inch round cake pans.

Stir together the first 3 ingredients and 1 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of mixture; add the oil, the lemon juice, egg yolks, and water. Beat at medium-high with an electric hand mixer 3-4 minutes or until smooth.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into flour mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon batter into the 6 prepared cake pans.

Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Spread the chilled filling between the cake layers, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges (about 2/3 cup between each layer). Don't spread any filling on the top layer. Cover the cake with plastic wrap, and chill 8 to 24 hours.

The Strawberry Frosting

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. strawberry-flavored gelatin

2 Tbsp. boiling water

1 cup chilled whipping cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 - 8 ounce container chilled sour cream

Stir together first 2 ingredients in a small bowl; cool completely (about 20 minutes).

Beat whipping cream and gelatin mixture at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Stir in sour cream, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring just until blended after each addition. 

Assembly

Place the chilled, layered cake on a cake plate or stand.  Spread the frosting on top and sides of cake.  Chill 2 hours before serving.

Sherry Cake

There was once a little cake that people just couldn't get enough of; correction...they still can't get enough of.  With the super elegant taste that it has you would never believe it is such a simple cake to make.  And using a boxed mix no less.

During the late seventies when my dear friend Tyra and I owned a little tea room in Midland, Texas this cake was always in high demand.

Tyra's mother Helen passed the recipe on to us.  It was given to her by a young man who was in culinary school in San Antonio.  Over the decades I have run across a gazillion people who have this recipe or something similar.  A co-worker of mine brings the exact same cake to work except he uses rum.  I'm actually surprised that I don't see it more often.

Enough of the history lesson, it's simply the greatest cake you can make and take anywhere for any occasion.

Simple ingredients:  yellow cake mix, vanilla instant pudding, eggs, water, canola oil, and dry sherry. 

A word on a couple of the ingredients if I may. 
Cake Mix - buy the yellow butter recipe
Pudding - make sure it is instant; also, if you can't find regular vanilla, I have used French Vanilla. 
Sherry - please make sure it is d-r-y; you don't need  an expensive sherry but make sure it's dry; and never use cooking sherry!!
Eggs - I crack my eggs into a bowl before adding to a recipe.  Trust me, if you have ever cracked an egg into a recipe and it turned out to be rotten, you might not crack another egg in your life.

Pecans

This is why it's so easy...just dump everything but the nuts in the mixing bowl and mix.

 Begin by mixing on low for about 30 seconds to stir everything together

Now flip the switch to medium high and beat for about 2 minutes until the batter is soft and fluffy

Fold in the pecans

Prepare a Bundt pan by spraying well with vegetable spray and pour in the batter.

Here's what gives this cake it's 'wow factor'.  A sherry sauce made of sugar, butter and, what a surprise, dry sherry!

It's very important that the sauce be heated up slowly and boiled briskly for 2 minutes only.  Any time I've had trouble turning this cake out of the pan is when I did not let the sugar dissolve completely or I boiled the sauce for too long and it got to a soft ball stage and hardened too much while cooling in the pan.  The making of the sauce is timed so that it boils for two minutes prior to the cake coming out of the oven.  That's because the minute you take the cake out of the oven, you do this..

Pour the boiling sauce over the just-out-of-the-oven cake and watch it boil right into the cake.  The heat of the cake and the heat of the sauce just explode into bubbles.  See the wax paper under the cooling rack?  I put that there to catch any of the sauce that may boil over; just easier to clean up.

Oh my goodness, I wish you could scratch and sniff this photo; it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan for thirty minutes so it can soak up all of that glorious sauce.

After the cooling time in the pan the cake will have soaked up all of that boozy, sugary sauce.

Turn the cake out on another cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.  Warning:  although the cake has been cooling in the pan for 30 minutes, the pan is still really hot.  So, take precautions when you turn it out of the pan.

Eat it warm, room temperature or cold; it will not disappoint.  Personally, I like it warm.  Cut a slice, pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds and it will taste like it just came out of the oven.

This cake freezes well too.  I have successfully frozen it whole and as individually sliced pieces.


Sherry Cake
Serves 12

Ingredients:
For the Cake -

1 yellow butter recipe cake mix
1 3.4 ounce box vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup chopped pecans

For the Sauce -

1 stick salted butter (4 oz.)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dry sherry

Mise en place:

• empty cake mix and instant pudding into mixing bowl
• measure out water, oil and sherry
• break eggs into bowl
• chop pecans

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 325 °F.  Add eggs, water, oil, and sherry to the dry ingredients that are in the mixing bowl.  Mix on low for 30 seconds until all ingredients are wet.  With spatula, sweep sides of bowl and mix ingredients on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.  Fold in pecans.

Spray Bundt pan with vegetable spray.  Pour cake batter into pan.  In a circular motion drag a knife through batter around the center of the pan to break any air bubbles and even out the batter.  Place on rack in middle of oven and bake for one hour.

Place a piece of wax paper on cabinet top and place a cooling rack on top of the wax paper. You want the wax paper there in case the sherry sauce over flows.

While cake is baking, prepare sauce.  In a small saucepan place butter, sugar and sherry.  Set a timer to 2 minutes but don't start it yet.  Begin melting and dissolving ingredients over low heat. 

Here is where you want to find your timing.  With my cook top I start dissolving the sauce over low heat when the cake has about 9 minutes left to cook.  With a small whisk, stir as ingredients are dissolving.  When sauce begins to boil turn on your pre-set timer and whisk constantly.  If it begins to overflow lift the saucepan off the fire until the foaming subsides then set it back on the fire.

When the timer for the cake goes off and the tester stick comes out clean, remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack.  Slowly begin to pour the sherry sauce over the top of the cake.  It will boil and bubble so try to distribute around the top of the cake evenly.

Allow cake to cool in pan for 30 minutes.  Turn cake out on another cooling rack to completely cool.