You can't cook a cake upside down!
A new season of Good Eats has started and Alton's first show was all about Peaches. Since they are in season I watched eagerly hoping for something that we could make. The recipe that caught my interest was for the Peach Upside-Down Cake and I got around to making it Friday night. Here is the recipe.
Individual Peach Upside-Down Cake
3 Tbsp Butter, divided
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 Medium Peaches, peeled
1 oz. Crystallized Ginger, finely chopped
2.5 oz. All-Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/8 Tsp Baking Soda
1/8 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Whipped Cream or Ice Cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Divide 2 tablespoons of the butter between 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the ramekins; sprinkling it into the bottoms of the dishes. Cut each peach into 12 to 14 pieces. Lay the peaches on top of the sugar; evenly dividing them between the dishes and sprinkle with the ginger. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combine. Pour the batter over the peaches; dividing the mixture evenly between the dishes. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove from the oven to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each dish and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Repeat with each cake. Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
Man was this good stuff. Jenn commented that I put too much ginger in but I didn't mind because I love ginger. It was really easy to make and with some good ice cream makes a very easy dessert to make. It was the perfect size for a dessert as well.
Jenn and I also came to the conclusion that I am a much better baker than I am a cook. Cooking requires too much abstract thought and I am a linear thinker. So there is going to be a lot more baking topics on this site in the future.