Peach Upside Down Cake       marydukecooks.com

The dog days of summer are here. Along with the heat and humidity comes a sweet treat. Juicy southern peaches! Peach Upside Down Cake is the perfect ending to your family dinner. It tastes great for breakfast too! Doc says he likes Peach Upside Down Cake better than the pineapple version!

Peach Upside Down Cake

Peach Brown Sugar Topping
Canola oil for greasing cast iron skillet
¼ cup unsalted butter
⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
3-4 fresh southern peaches (about 1 ½ pounds) unpeeled and cut into 20 to 22, ½-inch slices

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of skillet. Place peach slices in a circle on top of brown sugar along edge of skillet. Place additional peach slices in center of peach circle.

Cake
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon iodized salt
½ cup whole milk (or ¼ cup 2% milk plus ¼ cup whipping cream)
⅓ cup peeled, finely diced, fresh peaches
Garnish- vanilla ice cream or whipping cream.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with a mixer on medium speed for 4 minutes. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with milk like this: ⅓ flour mixture, ½ milk, ⅓ flour mixture, ½ milk, and ⅓ flour mixture. Add peaches, scrape sides of bowl, and mix again briefly.

Spoon batter gently on top of peaches in skillet. Try not to move peaches in the peach circle. Spread batter to edge of skillet. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool 3 minutes and run a knife around edge of skillet. Invert on a serving plate. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream. Makes one 10-inch cake. Enjoy!

Published in The News and Neighbor on July 4, 2018