Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Peach Tatin Cake

I get asked a lot about how I like the winter/cold weather in Chicago by my Chicagoan colleagues. It also happened to be one of the questions in my three rounds of interview. And guess what I told them?

"I love it! It is perfect for baking!" And I am not lying. I love fall and even winter. I love the cooler temperature that nudge me to turn on the oven for warmth and the Christmas decorations that stores couldn't wait to put up right after Halloween. Everything just put me in a festive baking mood. Which I am surely not the only one who feels this way.

peach tatin



Over at work, we have been using lots of apples, pears and pumpkins for the seasonal desserts. The apple tarte tatin in particular,has been a popular one when it was on the menu. I often find myself scrambling to make more in the middle of the busy service nights. No matter how many I have made before the beginning of service. People just can't have enough of them. But how could I blame them? The combination of puff pastry, warm baked caramel apple and rum & raisin ice cream is downright comforting and delicious.

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I wish I could share the recipe with you, but I couldn't. Instead, here's a delicious cake, almost the same idea as the apple tarte tatin. Except that it's in the form of cake and meant to be shared with company. I made this with OCT sometime ago to use up the peaches we had. While peaches season has long gone, I am thinking that you could use sauteed apples or poached/canned pear in place of the peaches.

We paired the warm cake with cocoa nib ice cream, but vanilla ice cream will be a great option too.

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Peach Tatin Cake
adapted from Tish Boyle's "The Cake Book"

caramel peach topping
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons butter,cut into tablespoons
4 large ripe peaches (18.3oz /520g),cut into wedges

cake base
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup natural yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
9 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10x3-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.

to make the caramel:
Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan, heat over medium heat. Stir with a heat resistant spatula until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring and increase the heat to high. Cook until the mixture turn a golden caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Be careful when you do that- the mixture will bubble up furiously. Very carefully pour the hot caramel into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Arrange the peaches around the edges of pan, overlapping them slightly;Arrange another circle of peaches in the center, facing the opposite direction, covering the caramel completely. If you have extra peaches, dice and save them to mix into cake batter.

To make the cake
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and vanilla extract; set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

At low speed, add in flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the yogurt mixture in two additions and mixing just until blended. (Mix in the diced peaches, if you have leftover)

Pour the batter over peaches, then smooth it into an even layer. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and spring back when lightly touched. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.

Run a thin bladed knife around the edges of the pan. Using pot holders, very carefully invert the cake onto a cake plate or platter. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

The cake can be kept in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to a week. Bring to room temperature before serving.

18 comments:

Dolce said...

I have a similar recipe (with apples) and really like it. It's sturdier than a regular tarte tatin and a crowd pleaser. I like that you used peaches instead, it must give an interesting tang!

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

The tatin looks wonderful...hope your new job is going well...

tracieMoo said...

This looks delicious! I like your photography alot :)

thumbs up!

thecoffeesnob said...

I was just drooling over the apple and cinnamon upside cake in Bill Granger's Sydney Food and wishing I had a slice.

This looks just about perfect!

Jean Luc said...

I love baked pastries in the winter too. I also love chocolate. There's something about its richness that warms. I have a recipe for an easy(you can make it in 5 minutes) Chocolate Mousse Recipe on the Culinary Institute LeNotre Blog: http://lenotreblog.blogspot.com/ What do you think>

Jean Luc
Culinary Institute LeNotre

Gigi said...

wow looks delicious and gorgeous! love the photos.

Malar Gandhi said...

That looks so yumm:)

ren said...

that looks wonderful!
I'm very jealous of anyone who has cold weather over Christmas. We sweat it out in Australia serving up Christmas pud on hot days! Not quite the same :)I'd love to bake more over this time of year.

Manggy said...

Hee, in the Philippines we get hot temps all year so I don't really mind, but I like warming up to the oven while I'm in the States :) Preferably with a slice of this beautiful cake! :)

RecipeGirl said...

I'd love it too! Cold weather gives me major incentive to get in the kitchen and get cooking. Unfortunately, I live in San Diego so I've got to muster up the urge without the weather's help! This looks so yummy.

tracieMoo said...

What a great dessert. It looks beautiful :)

Unknown said...

Gorgeous!

Maria said...

The tatin looks amazing, love your peach version

Jennifer said...

This sounds SOO wonderful! Your photos are gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Yum, i love cakes with syrup that just forms in the tin. Somehow it's always the perfect consistency and gets the right amount of caramelisation.

Unknown said...

This looks heavenly! I love a tatin, but I've never tried it with peaches - adding to my "to bake" file for sure.

Thanks for sharing - love love love your blog :)

Jacque said...

Looks like a winner! Your pictures are drool-worthy :)

AK @ Incontinence Supplies said...

Looks Juicy and Delicious!

Funny.. for someone who is not a big fan of stone fruit... you sure have a lot of great recipes for them :o)

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