A simple buttermilk cake topped with fresh Georgia peaches is what summer is all about in the South. I remember crossing the border into Georgia for the first time driving down I-85 years ago. The sight that greeted us was a giant peach looking almost real in it’s fuzzy plumpness. “Welcome to the Peach State” it said. I thought immediately of Gone With the Wind and the peaches and cream complexions of Scarlett O’Hara and all of the other southern belles. I declare, I have looked forward to the Georgia peach crop ever since.
I make a great peach cobbler which is such a tradition in our area. It goes well with barbecue and is served in many of the barbecue joints in the south. But I was looking for a more refined peach recipe this time. I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit for a blackberry buttermilk cake and just knew that I could adapt it to peaches instead of blackberries.
It is an easy cake to put together, but you have to be sure to sift the cake flour and measure before the final sifting with the baking powder, soda and salt. The results will yield a tender flavorful cake that is delicious in it’s subtle nuances of buttermilk, orange, vanilla and peaches. Dust with powdered sugar. Add ice cream or whipped cream if you must, but I like it as is.
GEORGIA PEACH CAKE
4 peaches, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/3 cups cake flour (sifted, then measured)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup of buttermilk
Butter a 9″ diameter springform pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom and butter that. Dust the pan with flour. Place pan on a baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix sliced peaces with 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl and allow to rest for a few minutes. Arrange peach slices in bottom of springform pan.
Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until it is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add orange zest and vanilla and mix in.
Mix the 2 1/3 cups of sifted cake flour with the baking powder, salt and baking soda. Sift into a bowl to be sure the baking powder and soda are evenly distributed.
On low speed add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter in 3 additions alternating the flour and the buttermilk.
Pour the batter over the peaches and smooth the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool in pan set on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Invert onto a cake plate, loosen the sides of the springform pan and remove it and the bottom piece. Peel off the parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
That sounds wonderful Penny! Are you back?
Hugs,
Penny
I will have to keep this recipe. Looks and sounds wonderful.
Georgia peaches have been some of the best in years haven’t they. Love your cake and also the pretty hydrangeas. Great shot.
Sam
Looks delicious. It’s quite beautiful in its simplicity, too.
Hi Penny, what a lovely blog! Your peach cake sounds divine. Peaches in any form are a favorite of ours, so I’ll have to make this one. Have a great weekend!
Look absolutely delicious Penny! gloria
I was recently in a restaurant of a celebrity chef a few weeks ago in Toronto who has just flown back home from picking peaxches in the South for her network show. This cake tsstes as good as it looks I am sure.
Delicious… And Missouri Peaches this year are coming in fabulous!
Beautiful, Penny! True peach love here.
I can’t wait to try this. Peaches are my one weakness.
I imagine that I can taste a crumb – and I’d eat every crumb from my plate. The cake looks as beautiful as I’m sure it is!
This sounds like something I can easily make here in my Aegean village! Delicious! Thank you for posting!
Penny, I have a friend who is 1) a baker and 2) a lover of peaches. I am sending this to her with the hope that she will bake it when our knitting group convenes. Thanks for this delicious and delightful entry–and for keeping your bloggers always at the forefront of your creative mind.
This is one Florida girl who can’t wait to try it!!
Just found this on Pinterest. I can’t wait to try it!
I found this on pinterest too. It sounds a gorgeous cake and all I need to do is convert to lbs and ounces. Not sure if the peaches sold here in the UK are going to do justice to your recipe but I am going to give it a try.
Do you recommend refrigerating the leftovers or storing it in a glass cake dome on the counter?
Hi Denise, It depends on how long you might want to store it. It would be OK for a day out of the fridge, but if you are keeping it longer, I would refrigerate it. Thanks for your comment.
I have a question. When you place the peaches in the bottom of the springform pan, do you include all the juices from the sugar/peach mixture? I seemed to have quite a bit, so put about half.