Summer Eats: Peach Upside Down Cake

Summertime means sun kissed skin and goodies from the garden. I’ve had no shortage of either in my household this summer and a Peach Upside Down Cake sounded like a tasty way to use some of the juicy, ripe peaches on my kitchen counter.

Preparing this recipe would be an ideal activity to share with your children since it was simple to put together – just make sure you have extra peaches for tasting along the way! The recipe says you could also used frozen, sliced peaches that have been thawed, but I suggest using fresh peaches if they are available. My cake turned out beautifully and tasted like a little slice of summer.

Peach Upside Down Cake
Serves 8

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 – 2 cups sliced, pitted and peeled peaches, sliced and cut in half lengthwise
(or frozen unsweetened peach slices, thawed)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Place 1/4 cup butter in an 9-inch round baking pan. Warm in a 350 degrees F oven about 5 minutes or until butter is melted. Keep an eye on it to avoid overbrowning the butter. Remove pan from oven. Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is completely moistened. Spread sugar mixture evenly in pan. Arrange peach slices evenly over brown sugar mixture making sure to leave space between so sugar can caramelize (the peaches will release a lot of juice, especially if they are fresh). Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in granulated sugar until well combined. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to beaten butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter evenly over the peaches in the pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto a large serving plate. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. I served mine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you have any leftovers, they should be stored, covered, in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from Midwest Living.

Fabric is Willow Orchard Berries Natural Fruits by Alexander Henry, available at Allegro Fabric. 

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