Peaches and Raspberries are a classic fruit pairing and a little bit of citrus makes all those flavors pop. Isn’t that what you want your food to do? Pop with exciting flavors? Desserts especially are better with great flavors or they tend to be too sweet. I do like a sweet dessert but that little citrus really changes the dish and changes it for the better. Peach Melba, peaches and raspberry sauce over Ice Cream is a Classic, although sort of out of style dessert but good flavor pairings never fade, you just keep reinventing ways to make them. So here we have a simple cake baked with peaches. How do you get to the next level? Think about what might go well..did you say Cool Whip? hmmm. not on my cakes, sorry…whipped cream would be a good answer. Go back to the Peach Melba idea…what if you made a basic peach cake and then drizzled Raspberry Lime sauce over it with fresh raspberries and lime zest? Do I have your attention now? Awesome. This dessert I created one night out of sheer boredom, nothing “original ” about it other than the addition of lime. I think i invented that. Work with me here, say GREAT IDEA PETE!!! But as every recipe developer, food creator, chef, cook must come to terms with, there probably is a dish pretty close to the one you just “invented” out there already. I’ll be content with knowing that maybe I just brought the idea into your kitchen . That makes me happy. For this dish find the freshest peaches.
These are New Jersey grown local peaches and they were delicious. Also, find some fresh raspberries:
You are going to turn these into a quick sauce by taking 1 pt, reserving at least 10 for garnishing the cake later…simply add the raspberries to a heavy saucepan along with 3 tablespoons of sugar and bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until they are soft and have released their juices..add 1/2 tsp. of fresh lime juice. Add to a food processor and simply pulse a few times. Now you can run this thru a sieve to remove pulp and seeds, or simply use at is. Leave the sauce at room temperature, but covered for when the cake is ready.
for the cake: use a 9 inch cake pan, well greased with butter.
4 FRESH SEASONAL PEACHES, PEELED AND SLICED
SUGAR FOR THE TOPPING, PLUS MORE NUTMEG
1 TSP LIME ZEST
Cream the butter and sugar in your mixer till fluffy and light in color. Add the egg , milk, and vanilla and beat till mixed in . Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and the nutmeg . Beat for 5 minutes. Pour into the cake pan. Place the slices in a circle on the top of the cake. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1/8 tsp. of nutmeg, pinch of ground cloves and sprinkle over the top of the peaches. Dot with small pieces of butter, about 2 tbs. Bake in 350 Degree F oven for 35 minutes or when the cake is firm to the touch at the center.
When the cake is done, let it cool on a rack for a good 2 hours. Drizzle some of the sauce over the cake along with the lime zest. Top with the reserved uncooked rasbperries. Slice and serve with more of the sauce. Ok, some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to if you like.
I hope you find some good fruit to make this cake with. Not overly sweet and highlights the seasonal peaches. Raspberries are like grated cheese, they made everything TASTE better!! The hint of spice is a great background flavor, you know, like in a cake doughnut. Nutmeg enhances the flavors.
A FOOD OBSESSION 