Cinnamon Peach Coffee Cake
This breakfast bread is a bread only in the loosest sense of the word. But with fresh peaches and the tang of buttermilk, who cares what it's called!
INGREDIENTS | YIELDS 1 CAKE (10–12 SLICES)
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, 2 softened, 1 kept cold
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3½ cups cake flour
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1½ cups fresh peaches, peeled and diced
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9″ round (2″ deep) cake pan with pan spray. Cut a circle of parchment to fit in the bottom, then coat the top of the parchment with pan spray.
In a large bowl beat 1 cup (2 sticks) butter with sugar until smooth and lump-free. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix thoroughly.
Sift together cake flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add to batter alternately with buttermilk. Pour into prepared pan, and top with peaches.
In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, brown sugar, almonds, and remaining teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix well, then cut in 1 stick cold butter, using fingertips or a pastry blender, until chunks are peasized. The streusel is ready when it holds together when squeezed, but easily crumbles apart. Be careful not to over mix.
Generously crumble streusel over the peaches, then bake until risen and firm, about 30–40 minutes. Cool before removing from pan.
The Creaming Method
This method refers to beating butter and sugar together until creamy. This ensures there are no lumps, which allows the remaining ingredients to be mixed in smoothly and evenly. Most recipes that call for creaming also call for the dry and wet ingredients to be added alternately. This means the sifted dry and measured liquids are each divided into thirds, and added, one-third at a time, first dry, then wet. This guarantees easy, even mixing.
