Summer Peaches and Raspberries
This Tuscan-style cake from Patricia Wells’ “Trattoria” cookbook is dense enough in texture to soak up saucy peaches without disintegrating, and the citrus flavor is a lovely foil to the sweetness of Colorado’s favorite summer fruit. She bakes it in a Bundt pan, but we made it in a tube pan. Ingredients
Unsalted butter and all-purpose flour for preparing the cake pan 3 cups all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt Grated zest and juice of 1 orange Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon ¾ cup whole milk 8 ounces unsalted butter, softened 1½ cups sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla 5 large eggs Confectioners sugar for dusting (optional) Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Evenly coat the interior of a 10-inch Bundt pan with butter. Dust lightly with flour, shaking out the excess flour. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the orange and lemon zests.
Combine the orange and lemon juices and the milk and set aside to “sour” the milk. In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition. The mixture will look curdled, but don’t worry. Alternating in thirds, add the milk and flour mixtures, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the center of the oven. Bake until the cake is an even, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 55 minutes. (Don’t worry if the cracks in the top of the cake don’t look dry — use the toothpick test to check for doneness.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving plate. If desired, sift confectioners sugar over the top of the cake. Slice into wedges and serve for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert.
Peach Pie Supreme
As a co-worker noted, we’ve yet to make a recipe from the Junior League cookbook Creme de Colorado that isn’t delicious, as well as appropriate for Denver’s altitude. However, the pastry recipe suggested with this pie called for whole milk, which we didn’t have on hand. So we used an old standby recipe handed down from mom, taken from a 1960s edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Note: Don’t underbake this pie or the center will be runny. Makes 8 servings. Ingredients 1 10-inch deep dish pastry shell (see below) 10-12 medium peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs, slightly beaten 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 6 tablespoons butter Sweetened whipped cream Directions
Prepare pastry shell. Mound peaches in unbaked shell. In small bowl, mix sugar, eggs and flour until smooth. Pour over peaches. Dot with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Let sit before serving. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
This is another Italian treat suggested by Patricia Wells in “Trattoria.” The tangy raspberries pair well in flavor — and color — with Palisade peaches. She suggests this as a stand-alone dessert, but we used it as a topping for the Fragrant Orange and Lemon Cake. Ingredients 5 ripe peaches (about 2 pounds) ¼ cup sugar ¾ teaspoon vanilla 2 cups raspberries (about 8 ounces) Directions
Peel the peaches: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the peaches in one by one and scald until the skins are softened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the peaches and plunge directly into cold water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the peaches using the tip of a small, sharp knife. Discard the skin.
Coarsely chop 3 of the peeled peaches and place Ingredients For a single-crust 10 inch pie 1 L cup flour ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup Crisco shortening 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water (we add a bit more in Denver’s arid climate) Directions
Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in shortening. Sprinkle in water, mixing until flour is moistened and dough almost cleans the side of the bowl. Gather dough into a ball; shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Roll dough 2 inches larger than inverted pie plate. Fold into quarters and ease into plate. Flute edges. For baked shell, prick bottom and sides of dough with fork and bake at 475 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. in the bowl of a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and puree. Spoon the puree into a porcelain baking dish and spread evenly over the bottom.
Cut the remaining peeled peaches into 16 even slices. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of sugar and vanilla. Evenly arrange the peach slices, slightly overlapping, on top of the puree, forming a ring of peaches around the edge of the dish. Cover and refrigerate for up to four hours.
At serving time, toss the raspberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Carefully spoon the berries on top of the puree, filling in the center of the dish. Serve immediately.