PEACH DELIGHT CAKE

I missed volunteering at Hillcrest Thrift Shop last week because we were having a fabulous visit from friends Phyllis and Marshall. The second Tuesday of the month I have a conflict due to that is the morning Blankets of Hope meets at the church. (Don't miss the picture at the end of the post of our latest throws.) I usually try to find a time on a different day that I can go in on the second week. 

Monday I stayed busy sewing the binding on two lap quilts that I needed to take on Tuesday. I had pieced and machine quilted them a while back, but just hadn't finished with the binding. (We didn't meet last month because of VBS at the church.) After I got the binding sewed on, I had to slip stitch it down. I sewed the binding on both of them in the morning and then hand stitched one of them. By then it was time for lunch and after lunch I decided I needed to take a break.

What's a better way to take a break than making a dessert to share with the volunteers at the thrift shop! Right? Even though I wasn't working, I knew I could take it before I went to the church and then go back later in the day to get my cake cover.

This week the shop is celebrating its 9th birthday. (I've been volunteering the last 5 of those years.) While I was there visiting with Volunteer Dana and Manager Cain, he gave us $5 gift cards to show their appreciation to us. I also heard that Volunteer Bob who checked out major appliances and bikes for the shop had died. I (we) will miss Bob. He was really a nice man. "Gentleman" comes to mind when I think of him. Loved his laugh! He really liked my desserts also and made sure he let me know it.

I had a few peaches left from Volunteer Terry's tree that he gave me, so I thought I would make this Peach Delight Cake from the Bundt Classics cookbook. It is so good and so moist! Don't worry you don't have to pass it up just because you don't have fresh peaches. The recipe actually calls for frozen peach slices, thawed and chopped. You could probably even use canned peaches.

PEACH DELIGHT CAKE

1         cup chopped frozen peach slices, thawed, drained (I used fresh peaches)
1/4     cup firmly packed brown sugar
2        teaspoons cornstarch
1/4     teaspoon nutmeg
1         yellow or vanilla cake mix (I used a yellow cake mix)
1-1/4  cups water
1/3     cup butter, softened
2        eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan. (I just sprayed my pan with cooking spray with flour.)

In a medium bowl, stir together the peaches, brown sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg. Mix well. Set aside. (See the bottom of the post for how I prepare the fresh peaches for the recipe.)

In a large mixing bowl, mix cake mix, water, butter, and eggs.

Stir on low to wet all ingredients.

Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Scrape the sides of the bowl again.

Stir in peach mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. (I did cook mine the whole 60 minutes. The cake will also pull away from the edge of the pan when done.)

Cool 10 minutes.

Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. 

If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar. (The cake is so moist, the powdered sugar quickly soaks into the cake.)



When the cake has cooled and you are ready to place it on a platter or use a plastic cake cover, the cake may have stuck to the wire rack a little. This is what happened to me - the cake is so moist.

Anyway, I took another wire rack and flipped the cake onto it.

Then once I had removed the stuck wire rack,

I could place the cake platter over the top of the cake and

reinvert the cake onto it from the wire rack.

When I need to peel peaches, I wash the peaches and then place them in boiling water and leave for 1 minute. (The water stops boiling when you put them in the water.)

Then I quickly place them in cold water (add a few ice cubes) and leave them til the peach has cooled. (This stops the cooking from the hot water.)

When the peach is cooled, the peeling will just pull off. I use my knife to get it started at the stem. (No more losing precious peach with knife peeling.)

While I sliced the peaches, I soaked them in a water/lemon juice solution (4 cups water and 3 tablespoons lemon juice) to keep them from turning dark until I was ready to add them to the cake mix.

(I drained them before adding them to the cake mix.)




This really is a delicious cake. The fresh peaches are definitely a "delight". The hint of nutmeg is priceless. When I went back to get my cake cover, there were only two pieces left, and everyone told me how good it was. (I think no one wants to be guilty of taking the last piece. ha)

Here is a picture of the five "new" finished lap throws Friend Fran and I brought in to Blanket of Hope. I sewed the two purple ones.