Fresh Peach Cake

So, I don't know if you're an Ina Garten fan, but I certainly am. I have this awesome cookbook of hers called How Easy Is That? It's great and I'd totally recommend it. There's this quote I found in it this week that has really stuck with me.

"I've often said that there are two kinds of people in this world: cooks and bakers. Cooks love to toss things into a pan and see what happens. Bakers tend to be precise. You can't throw a handful of flour into a cake and see what happens; it needs to be lightened, placed carefully in a dry measuring cup, and leveled off with a spatula or knife."

And I thought, that is so true. That's why cooking stresses me out. Because I'm a baker. There is something relaxing about the preciseness that baking requires. The Husband is a cook. If a recipe calls specifically for a can of Hunts Tomatoes, he does not understand why buying store brand tomatoes instead is NOT OKAY with me.

What about you, are you a cook or a baker?

Either way, you should make this cake. It's yummy. Ina suggests serving it with vanilla ice cream for desert (uh, yum). But it can also double as a coffee cake for eating in the morning. (Which is good, because as usual, I took this picture at 7:32 AM and the cake was gone by 7:43 AM.)

First, the ingredients. (Which I actually got right this week!) Flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, sour cream, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and of course, peaches!

So, to make your batter, cream together your butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy. Then add your eggs in, one at a time, then your sour cream, then your vanilla. Mix it until it's smooth.

Then, sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Turn the mixer on low and then add your dry ingredients until you get a batter that looks like this.

In a small bowl, mix together the last 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half the batter into the pan. Then top it with half the peaches, and 2/3 of the cinnamon-sugar mix. Yum. (Ignore that big ol' splotch of batter. I started pouring the second layer before I said, "Hello, I should have taken a picture of the first layer, duh.")

Then, top that with the remaining batter, the rest of the peaches and the rest of the cinnamon sugar. I'm not going to lie, spreading that second layer of batter takes a lot of patience, but it is worth it.

Then pop it in and bake it! And out comes this- yum, yum, yum. I can't wait to try it with ice cream.

 Fresh Peach Cake

From Barefoot Contessa's How Easy Is That?

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 peaches, pitted and sliced (or you can use the equivalent amount of frozen peaches)

1 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a square 9-inch baking pan.

In an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3-5 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Turn on the mixer and add the eggs one at a time, then the sour cream, then the vanilla until smooth.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Turn the mixer on low and carefully add your dry ingredients until just mixed.

In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Spread half of the batter into the pan. Top with half of the peaches and sprinkle on 2/3 of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Spread the rest of the batter on top of the peaches, then top with the remaining peaches, then sprinkle on the remaining cinnamon-sugar.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.