6 months later… Sweet Peach Cake

I’M BACK BETCHES!!!
That was the comeback line my nieces told me to use.

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind of emotions… joy and pain, courage and fear, faith and apprehension.  Time and introspection is just what I needed to gain a little perspective on life.  During this time I’ve managed to overcome many fears, I’ve emerged as a stronger person, I’ve learned to forgive, I’ve learned that friendship is the only lasting relationship, and I’ve learned that life goes on and things have a way of working themselves out. 

Many of you reached out to me with concern, and I can’t thank you enough.  It felt really nice knowing people I haven’t even met cared enough to send me a quick email.  I sometimes forget there is an audience on the other side that actually reads my blog and gives a damn.  Part of me feels like I’ve let you all down, but know that your thoughtful emails made my day!

Despite the hardship, I realize the transition would not have been made possible without the support of my amazing family and a few incredible friends.  I am so blessed to count on people in my life that provide me with free therapy at a moment’s notice.  Hearing me whine… now that is love, that is friendship!

Days, weeks, months have gone by and I have barely cooked, fruits, salads, and milk & cereal quickly became my go-to meals.  I didn’t miss cooking much, well, that is until I turned on The Food Network and watched the beautiful Giada DeLaurentis and lovely Ina Garten dish out some incredible meals, and that’s when a flood of sadness came over me and I missed cooking.

My family and friends’ incessant nagging didn’t help either… oh I’ve just about heard all the questions & comments…
Why have you stopped blogging?  
Why don’t you cook anymore?  
Dude, how long is the break?
You’ve become too skinny.
Have you lost more weight?
Why don’t you focus on doing what you love?
I miss reading your posts. 
But isn’t this your passion?
You better bake something good when you come over, and then post it.
I better see a post this Monday.

Each time someone would ask me when am I gonna get back to blogging, my response was always, “you have to be in the right frame of mind to write.”  And on that note, I wanna get back to blogging once again.  I wanna cook and bake again for the ones dearest to me.  Having said that, I also don’t want to over commit myself, and thus posting once every week or two seems to be a more realistic goal.

Now to share with you is this Sweet Peach Cake I made for my niece, Jasmin’s, graduation party.  As always I made a few tweaks to the original recipe, in this case Giada DeLaurentis’ recipe which was heavily criticized for being overly sweet & extremely dry.  Yes, I’m baffled too, I mean this woman can do no wrong in the culinary world.

After a few minor tweaks, this cake turned out perfect.  Moist, light, airy, sweet, & slightly peachy.  Saying this cake was loved by every single person, 26 to be exact, is an understatement.  Enjoy!


NUTRITION: Jarred Peaches are a good source of Vitamins A and C.  Aside from that, there is no other nutrition in this cake.


APPROXIMATE NUTRITION PER SERVING w/Frosting (18 squares):

• Calories: 274 cals
• Fat: 14 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
• Carbs: 36 g
• Protein: 3.3 g
• Fiber: 0.3 g

SWEET PEACH CAKE w/FROSTING (full fat)
~ slightly modified original cake recipe by Giada DeLaurentis
~ yields 18 squares baked @ 325 degrees in a 9” x 13” baking tray


INGREDIENTS:
for the cake:

• All Purpose Flour – 3 cups
• Baking Soda – 1 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Baking Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Ground Cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
• Sugar – 1 1/2 cups  =>  *suggestion* reduce to 1 1/4 cups
• Organic Canola Oil – 3/4 cup
• Organic Eggs – 3
• Buttermilk – 1/2 cup
• Pure Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp
• Trader Joe’s Peach Halves 25 ounce Jar – drained & chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

for the frosting:

• Unsalted Butter – 4 tbsp (room temperature)
• Heavy Whipping Cream – 1/4 cup (room temperature)
• Pure Vanilla Extract – 2 tsp
• Water – 2 tbsp
• Powdered Sugar – 2 cups

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease baking tray.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl… flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and ground cinnamon.  Mix and set aside.
3. Combine the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl… sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. 
4. Using an electric mixer, combine the wet ingredients until well incorporated.
5. Chop the peach halves into 1/2 inch pieces.
6. Add the chopped peaches to the wet ingredients.  Mix.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 batches.  Using an electric mixer, add and mix the dry ingredients into the wet.  DO NOT OVERMIX!
8. Result.
9. Pour the batter into a greased baking tray.
10. Into the oven for 45 to 55 minutes.  Oven temperatures vary and also depends on the size of the baking tray.
11. Perfectly golden brown!


frosting: –> Make sure the butter and cream are at room temperature otherwise you risk curdled frosting.

12. Cream the butter first. 
13. Add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and water.
14. Mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. 
15. Gradually add in the powdered sugar.  This recipe calls for 3 cups of powdered sugar, however it was way too sweet.  I used 2 cups instead.
16. Once the cake cools, frost!  Cut into 18 squares.


OVERALL: 4 / 5 
Flavor: Tasty. The cake was a tad bit sweet, I recommend cutting out a 1/4 cup of sugar in the cake recipe.  Also, the peach flavor wasn’t as intense despite doubling the peaches. Peach extract would greatly help intensify the peach flavor.
Moistness: Perfect. The addition of buttermilk adds a great deal of moisture to this cake.
Texture: Soft & Spongy.
Frosting: Light & Fluffy.  I cut down the powdered sugar by 1 cup otherwise the frosting would have been too sweet.
Highly Recommended.