Monday, August 29, 2011

Peaches with Ginger, Pecan, and Brown Sugar Cake



This post should be more aptly entitled "Summer's Last Hurrah."  Like these peaches.  Just when I thought the sad end of stone fruit season had come, I ran into these peaches at the market.  And they are some of the juiciest, most peachy-tasting peaches I have ever had.  Most of them didn't even make it into dessert form--they just disappeared into my belly as soon as I brought them home.  True noms!


What I did manage to save, though, went into this cake, which was designed purely as a sweet vessel for thick slices of these wonderful peaches.  (Like, seriously, people. This is about the peaches.)  The cake itself is a ginger-pecan cake, with the perfect balance of freshly grated ginger to add a bit of spice and toasted pecans to add a bite of nuttiness.  The frosting is a simple affair--basically a creamy, sweet bed on which to rest peaches, with the dark, rich undertones of brown sugar instead of white sugar.  Just because dark sugar is so much more superior. :-)

[click on photo for a larger image]

As for summer, I'm having the hardest time getting my head and body and spirit back in the game for the new academic year.  *sigh*  This is not entirely helped by the fact that I am... get this... going on vacation!  Ohhhhh yeah....  :-)  I know, I know, I'm totally playing hooky from one of my schools (granted, my home institution is still on summer break, so I feel at least partially justified in this), and I am headed out to the Big Island of Hawai'i.  Haha!  You don't know how excited I am for this.  I've never been to Hawai'i before, so this is going to be extra awesome.  (I'm sorry if you're jealous...)

That said, please!  I need your recommendations for places to go, things to eat, experiences to have on the Big Island!  If you have any, please leave them in the comments below.  Any and all recommendations would be greatly appreciated.  I'm also looking for any contacts to cacao growers on the Big Island for a special project, in case any Hawai'i cacao growers or anyone who knows anyone reads this blog.

Just a few more days of work before vacation, but at least, in the meantime, I have a slice of peach cake left in the fridge... :-D


Read on for recipe....



Peach and Ginger-Pecan Cake
makes one 8" round cake

for ginger-pecan cake:
1 cup (140 gr) AP flour
1/2 cup (60 gr) toasted pecans, finely ground
1/2 tspn salt
1 1/2 tspn baking soda
30 gr (1 oz) fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 cup (200 gr) lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of the cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. If desired, use bake-even strips.
2. Whisk together the flour, toasted and ground pecans, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a mixer bowl, combine the grated ginger, brown sugar, and butter. Cream on medium until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
5. Add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the whole milk. Beat well after each addition, but do not overmix.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth the top with the back of a spatula if necessary. Bake for ~60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out cleanly. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely.

for brown sugar frosting:
2 1/2 Tbspn AP flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup (50 gr) dark brown sugar

1. Combine the flour and milk in a small saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until the mixture thickens considerably. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Stir in the vanilla.
2. In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy and the sugar is no longer grainy. Beat in the flour and milk mixture.
3. Spread over cake.

for topping:
~2 large peaches, sliced

1. Arrange the peach slices atop cake.


cake recipe loosely adapted from Martha Stewart Living.
frosting recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen.

Enjoy!

41 comments:

  1. peaches are one of my favorite fruits and this cake looks like perfection! you take the most gorgeous food pictures!

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  2. Yeah, I am jealous. Always wanted to go to Hawaii! Cake looks super tasty too. 

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  3. So pretty! And it seems like the peaches will never run out here, so I still have time to make this. I like how you don't mess with the peaches, you just enjoy them au naturel. Thanks!

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  4. ahh! enjoy hawaii! i've never been to the big island so i can't offer recs but i'm sure it will be nothing less than spectacular. i am super envious and really miss hawaii now. :P

    and these pictures are divine. you are eerily good at this.

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  5. This cake looks diving!  So beautiful and artistic in your presentation.  My husband's birthday is coming up and he just might be getting something VERY similar to this.  Thank you.  And...enjoy your vacation.  We want to go to Ireland but I am waiting for the tickets to drop...waiting...

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  6. this is beautiful and i bet delicious! need to take advantage of the rest of the summer's peaches.....good recipe here :) xx

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  7. I love summer and don't want it to end yet! I printed this to make it sometime before the summer peaches disappear! :)

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  8. What a beautiful cake!  But what sized cake pan did you use?  9x2 inches?

    LinC

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  9. Oh id loveee to go to Hawaii :) But i suppose this gorgeous cake recipe will have to be enough to satisfy me in the meantime! Absolutely stunning

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  10. Very nice photography! I like it. 

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  11. Your cake is so beautiful. I love peaches, I can't wait for the season to begin here! 

    Have a fantastic time in Hawaii! I'm very jealous!

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  12. Id imagine the combination of peaches,ginger,pecans and brown sugaar must be delicious

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  13. Ooo! This looks fabulous! Saw the photo on FoodGawker and just had to click over. I'm making my dad a birthday cake this week and this just may be the one! Stunning photos; well done!

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  14. this cake is absolutely gorgeous!

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  15. I made this in an 8x2 inch pan, but a 9 inch would probably work as well and result in a slightly shorter cake.

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  16. thanks! the peaches were way too good to be messed with. :)

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  17. thanks, alice! that means a lot coming from you. :) loved the photos of your hawaii trip, so i've been excited to go ever since.

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  18. Thank you so much, everyone!

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  19. Seeing these photos of yummy peaches makes me so excited for our summer this year! I'll just have to make this when they're in season in Australia - yum! I love your blog!

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  20. god, peaches. this cake is gorgeous.

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  21. Can I come over for a slice? Please? Peaches, cream, ginger.. it has been way too long since I've baked or cooked anything. Been up to my ears with "busy" 

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  22. We never baked anything like that











    when I was a culinary school
    student (I wrote about it here, if you're interested: "Culinary School:
    Three Semesters of Life, Learning, and Loss of Blood," on Amazon Kindle -
    http://amzn.to/oqXw1R), but, oh, that is so gorgeous (I adore peaches), I so wish we had.

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  23. what a gorgeous cake! i live on the Big island, can you bring me a piece? i see fresh organic cacao pods from little local farms in the health food store. i could write a book here in your comment section on experiences to have, places to go, places to eat on the B.I..  i have read that some coffee farmers are growing cacao. maybe you will have luck there!  Kona Shark's is one farm that i have heard about.  Also, spend some time over here on the Hilo side, as well as Kona.  The Hilo Bay Cafe is a great place to sample locally grown and thoughfully prepared food.  and if you like mochi, please try Two Ladies Kitchen (mochi covered strawberries and other amazing mochi and manju creations).  we have a year round farmers market in Hilo that is really best on Wed. and Sat.  as for experiences,   the road (hwy 137) from Kalapana to Kapoho in the Puna district is the most beautiful little road that winds along the ocean.  Waipio valley and the stars at night up on Mauna Kea/Saddle Rd. are also not to be missed.  enjoy your vacay and e komo mai!

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  24. looks like a delicious dessert, and I've never tried brown sugar frosting, can't wait! 

    http://thefrostingonthecakes.wordpress.com/

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  25. after you cook and cool the flour and milk what do you do with it...recipe doesn't say.

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  26. Wow, this is the prettiest looking cake!
    xo
    http://allykayler.blogspot.com/

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  27. You must rent scooters/mopeds in Kona and ride them up the coast. It's the only way to see the island! We also went to volcano national park which was kind of a waste of time since it was all the way on the other side from where we were staying. 
    The best beach is the one by the mauna kea resort you have to arrive early since there is a small parking lot and it fills up fast. Coconut island is a fun place to swim and picnic, thats near hilo.

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  28. I just made this cake today.It was delicious so I had to feature it on my blog.You can see it here http://www.easybakesandcakes.blogspot.com I left a link to the recipe there as well!

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  29. You'll love the Big Island! My husband and I went for our honeymoon three years ago, and we pretty much drove around the perimeter of the island for the first half of the week before settling at a resort north of Kona for the last couple days. You can have a look at my photo set on Flickr, if you like. (The number of photos I took was a little excessive.) I recommend dinner at Alan Wong's Hualalai Grille (Four Seasons, Kona) if you're nearby and want some fine dining.

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  30. Carley @ Baking&BroilingSeptember 4, 2011 at 5:59 PM

    Your pictures are beautiful!!!

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  31. Thank you so much for these suggestions!  I can't wait to try the mochi at Two Ladies Kitchen--so many people have told me about it!

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  32. OMG, thank you for catching this oversight!

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  33. Thank you for the suggestions! Can't wait to check out some of these beaches. :-D

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  34. My goodness but that cake of yours looks so gorgeous! I love peaches too but they are way too expensive here! Beautiful photos!

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  35. Love how the frosting just peeks out from underneath the plums. Seductive! Enjoy your Hawai'i holiday! I was born and raise in Hawai'i and always make it a point to go back at least twice a year :)

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  36. wow - that's the prettiest cake I've ever seen!

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I love hearing from you and reading your comments! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. Happy feasting!