Peach Cake Makes Good Impression and is a Great Way to Use Summer Peaches

My local market featured fresh southern peaches for $0.69 a pound. I decided to make the Summer Peach Cake in the July/August issue of my favorite magazine, Cook’s Illustrated. I love this magazine because they do an outstanding job of creating wonderful recipes and testing them umpteen times to get just the right cooking method and the perfect amount or proportion of ingredients. You also refresh your memory or learn many food science concepts.

The peach cake uses 2 and a half pounds of fresh peaches in one 9-inch round cake. Prior to mixing the peaches in the cake, you bake the slices in the oven to help intensify their flavor and bring out some of their juices in order to prevent a runny cake. I was extremely pleased with the final product. It looked fabulous, like I had spent a lot of time (which I didn’t). It tasted great and had great peach flavor.

By getting the peaches on sale, I was able to make this cake for $5.52 total, or $0.55 a serving for 10 servings. A great buy for an impressive-looking summer dessert.

Note: Cook’s Illustrated Magazine is $5.95 an issue or $24.95 for an annual subscription. You can also subscribe online for a free 14-day trial at www.cookillistrated.com/trial.