Peach Golden Cake

It is the time of the year where I am constantly letting myself get led on and let down by Seattle summer weather and also by the season's first summer stone fruits. For starters, every year there is the first week of perfect, spectacular summer weather and I bury my raincoat in my closet, just to dig it out again when the rain reappears within the next 48 hours. I also cannot resist the opportunity to buy the first peaches that arrive on the shelves, that waft their perfumed fragrence in my direction. I snatch them right up hoping and wishing, against all of my best knowledge that they will ripen into juicy, soft, delectable summer fruit. But just like the rain never stays away during a Seattle spring, the first peaches of summer are never what you are looking for. However, high temperatures can do lovely things to even the most disappointing of summer fruits. This cake provides the perfect pillow-like base for peaches that need a little extra help.

Peach Golden Cake adapted from Maggie Ruggiero

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick) softened

1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon sugar, divided

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 peaches, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer or with a rubber spatula until pale an fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. Mix in the flour until just combined.

4. Spread batter evenly in pan, then place the peaches neatly over the top. Stir together nutmeg and 1/2 tablespoon sugar and sprinkle over top. Bake until cake it golden-brown, 45 to 50 minutes. (Cake may rise over fruit.) Allow cake to cool in pan before removing.