Donut Peach and Raspberry Upside Cake

The Taste of Summer

“They hurried up to Main Street and one short block around the corner on Central past Reynaud’s with stacked French bread in the window and black-haired Mrs. Reynaud waved her flour-pale hand at them and they were home.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Donut peaches are a summer obsession. Every time I see them at a farmers market or the grocery store I want them all. Sometimes they are called Saturn peaches, either name makes me smile. They can be white or yellow fleshed and if they are good ones their sweet floral aroma will captive you. I Googled Donut peach perfume, seems I’m not the only one looking for a peach scented summer. When I buy summer stone fruit at the famers market the sweet scent of peaches and nectarines should be prominent, otherwise I move on. Scent is also a good indication of the sweetness of strawberries. I bought these Donut peaches at our Old Town farmers market. Their pale, almost translucent skins were splashed with celadon and bold strokes of blushing pink. And they were excellent. The fresh pastured eggs from Soledad are outstanding. Some mornings they have freshly harvested arugula too. Sunflowers sell out early. If you’re local it’s an easy trip downtown on Saturday morning. It’s a hidden gem, at Gabilan and Main.

I used Marion Cunningham’s recipe for the upside cake. It’s from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, a favorite of mine. The recipe is all over the web, with many adaptions too. Marion Cunningham’s recipes always yield the desired results without any extra fuss. Her upside cake recipe has many fruit variations, pear, peach, plum, papaya, mango and apricot. Her peach version adds almond extract and canned peaches is another idea. I omitted the almond extract to let the sweet, floral Donut peaches remain the star of this easy to make cake. This is a stellar cake recipe to use all year long, easy, adaptable and scrumptious.

Essentials

The original recipe uses a 9” cast-iron or other skillet that can be used in the oven. I used a 9” round cake pan (a square pan would work too) and there was plenty of room to add the entire group of whole, Donut peaches. While the cake bakes, the aroma of peaches and raspberries will flood your kitchen. Each slice of upside cake tastes like summer. Sweet Donut peaches play well with tangy raspberries, and everything is smothered in brown sugar and butter that soaks into a fine crumbed cake.

	Donut Peaches and Raspberries
7-8	Donut peaches
4T/1/4C	unsalted butter
1/4C	brown sugar
1C/basket	raspberries
	Upside Cake, barely adapted from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book
1-2/3C	all-purpose flour
2t	baking powder
1/2t	fine grain sea salt
1/3C	unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3C	sugar
1t	vanilla extract
2	eggs
2/3C	whole milk

1. Fill medium size saucepan 2/3 full with water and bring to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, rinse the peaches and remove the stems. Cut an X in the bottom (non-stem side) of each peach an inch across. The X will help release the skin from the peaches, it doesn’t need to be deep. When the water is rapidly boiling add half the peaches and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove the peaches to a colander to drain and cool. Repeat with the rest of the peaches. When the peaches are cool enough to handle use a knife or your fingers to peel or rub away all the skin from each peach, it should slide off easily. Place the peaches on a cutting surface to remove the seeds. In donut peaches the long part of the seed grows in the same direction as the widest part of the peach. Use a knife or apple coring tool to remove the seed. Try to keep the peaches in one piece. If they break apart, piece them together on the cutting surface, as a reminder for arranging them in the cake pan.
2. Heat the oven to 350°. In a skillet or saucepan add the butter and brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until the entire mixture is boiling vigorously and the sugar has melted. Scrape the sugar mixture into the 9″ cake pan and quickly spread across the bottom of the pan. Arrange the donut peaches on top of the sugar mixture, nestling them close together. Place a raspberry in the center of each peach. Add more raspberries around the edges of the peaches. Reserve the rest of the berries for serving with the cake.
3. Over a medium size bowl shake through a sieve or sift together the flour, baking power and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the softened butter until light yellow and creamy, 4-5 minutes, stopping several times to scrape down the bottom and sides of the mixer bowl. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sugar. Stop and scrape down the bottom and sides of the mixer bowl, beating until well combined. Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined and no visible pieces of butter remain. Add the flour mixture and milk to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix to combine, stopping to scrape down the bottom and sides of the mixer bowl. Mix only until combined and the batter is smooth. Scrape the batter evenly across the top of the peaches and raspberries. Bake the upside cake for 35-40 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the cake (not the fruit) will come out cleanly and the edges of the cake will have pulled away from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool for five minutes and then invert into a serving dish. The upside cake is best served warm with more raspberries. Whipped cream is optional.