I love summer in Ontario. I get so excited to go to the farmers markets and pick up whatever is fresh. I went to the Brickworks for their weekly market and picked up this incredible delicious basket of peaches. As I was making my way through the peaches I realized that I would need an alternate method of consumption because I just couldn’t eat THAT many peaches. I turned to one of my fave sites, The Kitchn and came across this recipe for a peach and cornmeal upside-down cake by Martha Stewart. I’m a fan of upside-down desserts and I love cornmeal AND I love Martha Stewart so I was game.
The recipe is pretty straightforward and I followed it but made some tweaks as suggested by The Kitchn including adding some cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter and using thyme instead of lavender. The cake is pretty easy to whip up and I actually put it together before dinner! I’m always thrilled when I get the chance to use my stand mixer and this was the perfect use for it.
In retrospect I wish I had spent more time planning out how to arrange my peach slices because this could have been infinitely more beautiful. I also wish I could do an upside-down cake where the syrupy part was more visible. With that said this turned out well. Perhaps a bit TOO heavy on the cornmeal and I wish I had used a coarser variety, but still delicious. The thyme flavour added a unique spicing to the mix but could almost be omitted if you didn’t have any on hand. I didn’t have any ice cream in the freezer but as you can imagine this would be pretty killer with the ice cream.
A great way to use up some peaches you might have on hand before they go funny.
Peach and Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake
* 5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges
* 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender
* 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
* 3 large eggs
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup heavy cream
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, using a pastry brush to coat sides with butter as it melts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom of skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar. Arrange the remaining wedges in the center to fill. Reduce heat to low, and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, lavender, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat remaining stick of butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Mix in vanilla and cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in cornmeal mixture in 2 additions.
3. Drop large spoonfuls of batter over peaches, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer skillet to a wire rack, and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around edge of cake. Quickly invert cake onto a cutting board. Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches, and carefully remove skillet. Reposition peach slices on top of cake. Let cool slightly before serving.
Recipe via Martha Stewart
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8 Responses to Peach and Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake
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This comment was originally posted on Twitter
SO SO STRANGE! I was inventing this dish in my head and told my mom about it just days ago. I did not know it existed and definitely did not think you would be eating it in the same week… Also, I oddly enough have exactly 3 peaches on hand that incited the incident of my ‘invention’.
I take up your challenge to try the recipe, but I shall raise you in non-gluten (so it might be less raise and more dense, actually…). I will keep you updated on my result.
I now go searching for an iron skillet to borrow…
I didn’t use a skillet (should have mentioned it in the post). I just used a regular cake pan (not springform).
hmmm I love upside down cakes of any kind, and this one looks absolutely amazing!
Just made this, didn’t add any lavender- instead 1/2 t. cinnamon and 1/8 t. nutmeg. really delicious, and beautiful !!
I just made this and substituted the lavender for the cinnamon and nutmeg as recommended and it’s delicious! My husband keeps coming back for more – he says it’s the best thing I’ve baked in a while, which is saying a lot since I bake ALL the time! Thank you!
[...] to ‘What’s On My Plate‘ for this recipe, via Martha [...]
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