Eat A Peach Cake

Photo: Watson Ashe

This is a peach one layer cake with a coconut and nut topping. Moist and simple to make, it is a delicious dessert to bring to a party. In my opinion, 2/3 of a cup of sugar is sweet enough. I can't imagine using the 2 cups suggested. What a sugar overload! Here is how to make it:

Peach Cake

For the cake -
Ingredients:

2 cups sugar (I cut this down to 2/3 of a cup.)
2 eggs

2¼ cups flour (I use one and ¼ cups all purspose and one cup whole wheat.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter, ice cold and diced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large can peaches (drained), or 2 cups fresh peaches (Save the juice and add to the batter if needed to get a not too dry, or runny consistency.)

Directions: 
1. Throw the ingredients into a mixing bowl, in order, and beat with an electric mixer.
2. Mash the peaches, separately, and by hand, fold into the batter.
3. Pour into a greased 9" by 9" cake pan.
4. Bake in a 350 F degree oven for about 40-50 minutes, or until done. Remove and let cool in the pan. (I scrape the sides with a knife.)

For the frosting
Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar
¾ cup can evaporated milk
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter (I only use 4 tablespoons.)
1 cup coconut
1 cup walnuts (or pecans), chopped

Directions:
1. Toast the nuts on a baking sheet in a 350 F oven for about 10 minutes and set aside.
2 Put all the ingredients, except the nuts, in a sauce pan and simmer on a stovetop until it thickens.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts.
4. Spread on top of the cake. (Sometimes I take a spoon and twirl holes in the cake so the frosting seeps in.)

We all like desserts occassionally. My Mom is a fussy-fancy-pants baker, unlike me. And yet, just like me she reduces the amount of sugar in recipes when making pastries. (Only recently did I realize she did it too.) You want to use enough sugar to still have a satisfying sweet. Figuring out how much you can cut requires some trial and error. While measuring Mom will quip, "You have to leave some sugar in, or else you end up with a piece of bread." She doesn't know she is funny.

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