Spiced, Upside Down, Peach and Cornmeal Cake
Updated: Nov 12, 2021
Create delicious, seasonal fruit cakes in a breeze! Try baking according to the seasonality of ingredients. When baking with fresh fruit, seasonal produce is the most cost effective and satisfyingly, delicious. Seasonal produce tastes better, has more nutrient intake, and is environmentally friendly. When fruits and vegetables are in season, flavors will be enhanced, and will knock your taste buds into place. It is the reason why we eat warm, cinnamon, spiced apple pie in September and spiced, pumpkin pie in October. Peach cobblers, and sour strawberry-rhubarb pie are what fellow Canadians look forward to in the Summer. Niagara peaches are juicy and sweet as soon as August hits, while strawberries are the sweetest in June. Berry lovers jam their precious blueberries and raspberry to taste Canadian's agriculture all year round.
JUMP TO RECIPE
This recipe is the entry level to baking local. Baking should not be a chore nor should it put debt in your bank account. This cake will impress your guests and will only take15 minutes to whip up. The cornmeal adds a beautiful, nutty flavor to the cake and creates a fluffy texture. No fancy baking supplies needed! To begin, all you need is a round, food-grade aluminum cake pan. Preferably Crown Cookware's round 9X3"cake pan is best. Not only are these pans pure, food-grade, but it is manufactured in Canada! These pans are made from 16 gauge aluminum. What does this fancy term mean? All you need to know is, it is the perfect thickness of metal to transfer heat directly from your pan to your cake mix!
Fun fact: Aluminum has amazing, super abilities to conduct heat! This will guarantee your batters will always have an even rise when baking cakes! Thinner, delicate crusts...always!
If you do not have a round 9X3" cake pan, you can definitely use a square cake pan. Make sure you use a 9X9"square cake pan with a 3 inch depth.
We choose fresh, local, Niagara peaches, from Parkway Orchards to create this cake. These peaches have a beautiful floral scent, that is not overly sweet, perfectly juicy with a hint of citrus notes. You can use any local, fresh fruit your taste palette desires. The cake works well with bananas if you do not have access to local fruit. Banana are an option when fresh produce is not available. You can literally walk into any grocery store and spot it!
Let's begin...
INGREDIENTS
All purpose flour, 150g or (1C + 2Tbsp)
Cornmeal, 150g or (1C + 2Tbsp)
Granulated Sugar (A), 45g or (1/4 C)
Baking Powder, 15g or (3.5 Tsp)
Kosher salt, 6g or (1 Tsp)
Egg, 1
Milk, 240g or (1C)
Cinnamon, 1 tsp
Vanilla extract, 3tbsp
Maple syrup, 25g (2 Tbsp)
Vegetable oil, 90g (1/3C + 1 Tbsp)
Granulated Sugar (B), 400g or ( 2 C)
Peaches, 4 Pieces
BAKEWARE & UTENSILS
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 345F.
Grease and line a Crown Cookware 9” x 3” Round Cake Pan. Make sure to place a round parchment paper on the bottom of the pan.
Slice each peach into 8 slices. Do not worry about the skins, leave them on.
Place the slices evenly, fanned in the bottom of the cake pan.
5. Place sugar (B) in a pot with no water. Stir & cook on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and turns an amber color.
6. Take off heat & pour on top of the peaches.
7.In a bowl, whisk sugar (a), vanilla extract, maple syrup, oil, milk and the egg together.
8. In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients; flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
9. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and combined.
10.Pour cornmeal mixture on top of the caramel peaches.
11.Bake in a preheated oven at 345F for 35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
12.Cool for 25 minutes.
13.Use an offset spatula to loosen the sides o the cake in the round cake tin.
14. Place a plate on top of the baking pan and flip it upside down quickly.
15. Remove the cake pan. VOILA- A MAGICAL ART PIECE.
16. Best served warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Baking according to seasonality will improve the flavor of all your baked creations. Your guests will think your a glorified-baker-genius! The finished, upside, down peach cake is beautifully, caramelized.
The peaches are cooked to perfection. The peaches released its sweet, citrus juices into the cake. The final result is left with a cake crumb that has a jam consistency on top and spongy, pudding like texture for the crumb. The cake's aroma has a roasted, nutty scent derived from the cornmeal and sweet, honey, spiced scent from the peaches and ground cinnamon. One bite into this cake and you experience Niagara peaches all over again, with a touch of lemon notes.
Bake local and experience Canada's seasonal produce. Baking local made easy and delicious with Crown Cookware.