Tag Archives: summer

Upside-down Peach Coffee Cake

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

There are very few fruits I enjoy more than a “freestone” peach. They have a very short season, so we grab them every time we get the chance. Unfortunately, they usually aren’t labeled so I never know if I am getting a freestone or a cling peach. We were so lucky to find them at our local Costco, but sadly the last batch seemed to have been exposed to too much refrigeration (almost as if they had been partially frozen) and while the flavor was great, the texture was horrible and they sucked to eat raw. I hated to toss them out…so I cooked them and made them all better!

Notice how the pit comes away cleanly from the flesh? That's the beauty of a freestone peach

Notice how the pit comes away cleanly from the flesh? That’s the beauty of a freestone peach

If you know me at all, you know I am not a coffee drinker, but that never stopped me from enjoying a good coffee cake! My mind wandered to pineapple upside down cake and how my Mom used to make it in a cast iron skillet and then I thought, “Why couldn’t I do a coffee cake like that?” In my mind, a coffee cake shouldn’t be overly sweet and this one isn’t. It’s perfect for breakfast or snacking and loaded with caramel and peaches. It’s dense and moist, so you don’t need a huge piece.

When I made this recipe I used a Lodge 12” cast iron skillet. It’s great for everything! I wouldn’t recommend a stainless pan for this recipe – hello, caramel – but an oven safe non-stick pan would work if you adjust the baking time as indicated. A couple of quick notes about the recipe:

  • No need to peel the peaches – BONUS!
  • I made it without the nuts in deference to the Hubby, but I bet it would be great with chopped nuts, so I included variation instructions
  • You can sub regular (not fat free or reduced fat) cream cheese for the mascarpone if you can’t like, but it will make the batter a little tangy
  • This recipe would work well with apples too
  • Cloves and peaches really work well together, so if you like that flavor, make your “pinch” a bit heavier. Same goes for apples.

Upside-down Peach Coffee Cake

serves 12 -16

active time 20 minutes – baking time 40-45 minutes

3 C all-purpose flour

1Tbsp baking powder

¾ tsp sea salt

¾ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)

3 large peaches sliced ¼” thick – use more if you want

¾ C packed brown sugar

¾ C unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

¾ tsp cinnamon

¾ C chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

¼ C plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp

1 1/8 C packed brown sugar

3 oz mascarpone cheese

3 eggs at room temp

1 ½ C buttermilk

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350

Combine the dry ingredients in a 1 qt bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside.

In a 12” oven safe skillet melt the butter, add the brown sugar and cook over medium flame until it starts to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Top with sliced peaches in a spiral pattern or something decorative. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Set aside.

Cream together butter, brown sugar and mascarpone until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in thirds, alternating with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Mix well.

Pour cake batter onto the prepared peaches, gently spreading the batter to the edges of the skillet. It’s ok if you see a little melted butter around the edges of the pan.

Bake at 350 for about 40 – 45 minutes for cast iron, a bit less for a non-stick pan. Either way, check it at 30 minutes to see how much more time you will need. Top will slightly crack and bounce back when touched lightly and the edges will be dark golden brown.

Allow to cool in pan 10 – 15 minutes, then flip out on a large serving platter. Be CAREFUL, the melted sugar will burn the shit out of you if you get it on your skin. If you wait TOO long to flip it out the caramel won’t run down the sides of the cake and will glue itself to the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes after removal from the pan before serving to set the caramel and peaches. Tastes great warm or at room temp.

 

 

 

Summer is Over – Fall Means Canning in My House

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I can’t believe it is already September! Where has 2016 gone? Shit! I sound like an old woman, railing against the passage of time! Fall means I need to start canning and here in the desert heat I end up doing it late at night.

We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day

This summer was such a whirlwind of activity and travel that I have barely had a chance to catch my breath. As a child, summer was a time to rest, rejuvenate and enjoy. We knew we were going back to school the Wednesday after Labor Day, so we made the most of summer. We took advantage of every sweet bite before fall and back-to-school sunk their claws into us. Trips to Lake Taghkanic (pronounced tuh-CON-ik ) were the norm, but so was weeding the garden. Going to Gram’s house on Long Island was a forgone conclusion with visits to Jones Beach. We’d go early in the morning and grab fresh bagels on the way as the icing on that particular cake. (Moment of Truth – I rarely go to the beach without wanting a salt bagel with lox cream cheese now.) If we were lucky we got to go to Lake George and to Storytown (now Six Flags Great Escape). I know my mom worked her ass off all summer so we COULD go and do those things. In fact, one glorious summer she was the concession manager at Lake Taghkanic and we went with her most days. [I honestly don’t have a lot of great memories of my childhood, but that summer was epic in my now adult mind. I learned how to do crossword puzzles, run a cotton candy machine, make popcorn in a movie theater style popper and had swim lessons with cute lifeguards whose names I still remember.]

There she was, over a cinderblock fire pit canning everything and anything as if we were preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead

And I remember Mom canning in late summer and early fall. If you know my mom at all, you know how hilarious this sounds. She HATES to cook. Loves to bake, hates to cook. Late summer and early fall were always the worst for Mom because of her allergies. Yet, there she was, over a cinderblock fire pit – no, I am not kidding – wasps flying around, canning everything and anything as if preparing for the coming of The Walking Dead (Moment of Truth #2 – I am completely addicted to that show and can’t wait for the season premiere). I know I have shared this thought before and I wish I had a picture, because my 51 year old brain still can’t make sense of it, even though I witnessed it.

I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past

So now, in my middle age, I find myself prepping for the zombie apocalypse. I am not sure if it is an imperative of generations of farm to table living, needing to prepare for the known cold winter coming through my DNA. Maybe it’s that what once was old school is now fashionable again, or just simple nostalgia. I am canning, preserving and baking. In recent weeks I have made and canned tomato sauce, meatballs, chicken stock and peeled and canned fresh tomatoes. I’ve dried herbs and gotten them into storage. And I am weeding the garden that I allowed to go fallow this summer. I am not sure what it is about fall that makes me want to live in my past because I rarely want to revisit that. You know, Hakuna Matata and all that. But here I am, acting like some country housewife of days gone by.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

This is what a quarter bushel looks like canned (minus a few that we ate fresh). Approximately 9 qts.

Make no mistake, I live in a CITY (where I personally belong), not in the country any more. I am surrounded by concrete and desert landscaping, just the way I like it for most of the year. The siren song of water – lakes, beaches and rivers – holds no sway over me as it did in my childhood, although I do love a good thunderstorm. Vegas could never be called the cradle of the Farm to Table movement. It could never be called the Breadbasket of America. But just for now, in my little corner of the city, what constitutes fall in the desert feels like a modernized version of my past.