By Alex Ward

This is a similar recipe from the NYT, however, this time, 8 tablespoons of the butter are not incorporated into the batter but placed into the baking pan to melt. Two thirds of the batter are then added to the pan.

“When you transfer the batter to the pan, it will not completely cover the bottom, nor will it cover the top of the peaches, but cobble it together the best you can. As it bakes, the batter will rise up  along the sides of the pan and through the peaches, developing a crisp exterior and tender interior.”

This cake is best the day it’s made as the crisp exterior softens when covered with plastic wrap or foil for storage. 

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds ripe peaches or 6 cups frozen sliced peaches
  • 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks)
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup milk
  •  Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

PREPARATION

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, pit and slice the peaches. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sliced peaches and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until soft and syrupy.
  2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup sugar with the remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk until combined.
  3. Add 8 tablespoons of butter to a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and place it in the oven. When the butter is melted, reserve 1/3 cup of the batter and set aside. Add the rest of the batter to the pan, using a spatula to spread it out as much as you can. It will not fully cover the bottom of the pan. That’s O.K.
  4. Spoon the peach mixture evenly over the top of the batter. Using a clean spoon, dollop small bits of the reserved batter over the peaches, and spread around a bit with the back of the spoon. (It will not fully cover the peaches. Again, that’s O.K.!)
  5. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Note: I made this with frozen peaches. Two things I discovered:

1.The cooked peaches were too sweet for my palate, so I squeezed almost half a lemon over them. If you also find them too sweet, add lemon juice slowly until you get to your desired taste.

2. I found that 2 tablespoons of flour added to the frozen peaches made them too thick. I would use 1 tablespoon next time. Fresh peaches might be juicier, so 2 tablespoons of flour would be correct.