Peach Sponge Custard Cake Food

PEACH KUCHEN (GERMAN PEACH CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, mace in a mixing bowl and stir well with a whisk. Add the cold butter pieces and incorporate to blend with the flour until it becomes fine crumbs.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk milk and egg well. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork just until it becomes wet.
• Spread the batter on the bottom of the prepared pan. Arrange the peach slices on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
• To make the custard cream, combine 1/4 cups of cream with flour in a medium mixing bowl, and whisk together to get rid of big lumps. Add the rest of the cream, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt; whisk well to mix.
• Take the cake out of oven, and pour the cream mixture on top. Put the cake back in the oven, and immediately reduce the heat to 350˚F. Continue to bake the cake for 35-40 minutes.
• When the cake top is puffed, the edges are deep golden and starting to separate from the pan, the cake is done. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

PEACH CUSTARD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
• Mix flour, salt and butter until crumbly and press into the bottom and partway up the sides of a 9 x 13 pan.
• Drain peaches reserving juice and arrange over crust evenly.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over peaches then bake for 20 minutes
• Combine the reserved juice with the evaporated milk and eggs and pour over the peaches then bake for another 30 mins until custard is set.

FRESH PEACH CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.
• Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.
• Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEACH MELBA SQUARES

Steps:

• Butter and line a traybake or small roasting tin, about 20 x 30cm. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan, cool for 5 mins, add the sugar, vanilla and eggs, then beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour, almonds and ¼ tsp salt.
• Tip the mix into the tin, then lay the peach slices evenly on top - that way each square of cake will have a bite of fruit. Scatter the raspberries and almonds over, then bake for 1 hr-1 hr 10 mins, covering with foil after 40 mins. Test with a skewer: the middle should have just a tiny hint of squidginess, which will firm up once the cake cools. Cool in the tin for 20 mins, then lift out onto a cooling rack. Once cold, dredge with icing sugar, then cut into squares.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEACHES & CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160f fan/gas 4, line the tins and make the sponge base as described in the 'goes well with' recipe (below right), but do not divide it between the tins just yet.
• Halve and stone the peaches, then cut each half into 4. Toss the peaches with the sugar, then arrange in a single layer in one of the tins. Tip half the cake mix over the peaches and the other half into the second tin. Bake for 20-25 mins until cooked and golden - the tin containing the peaches may take 5-10 mins longer than the other. Leave to cool on a wire rack while you make the filling.
• Whisk the clotted cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Spread this over the plain sponge, then carefully top with the peach sponge.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEACH SPONGE

Steps:

• First make the topping. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease a 20 x 30cm baking or roasting tin and line with baking parchment. Sprinkle with the sugar-flour mix. Push a raspberry or cherry into the cavity of each peach half, then place the peaches, cut-side down, in the tin.
• To make the sponge batter, beat the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, yogurt and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric whisk until lump-free. Spoon the mix into the tin, over and around the peaches, then bake for 50 mins-1 hr until golden and risen and a skewer poked in comes out clean.
• Cool briefly, then carefully run a cutlery knife around the edges to release any stuck bits. Turn the cake out onto a board and cut into squares. Delicious eaten warm with ice cream.

RHUBARB & CUSTARD CAKE

Steps:

• Make the roasted rhubarb first, carefully draining off the juices before you let it cool. Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
• Reserve 3 tbsp of the custard in a bowl. Beat the rest of the custard together with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth. Spoon one-third of the mix into the tin, add some of the rhubarb, then dot with one-third more cake mix and spread it out as well as you can. Top with some more rhubarb, then spoon over the remaining cake mix, leaving it in rough mounds and dips rather than being too neat about it. Scatter the rest of the rhubarb over the batter, then dot the remaining custard over. Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins more. It's ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then dredge with icing sugar when cool.

PESCHE CON CREMA (PEACHES WITH CREAM)

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring milk and lemon zest to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow; add flour and whisk until well combined.
• Remove lemon zest from milk and discard; slowly whisk hot milk into egg mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and place over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until cream thickens and begins to boil.
• Transfer pastry cream to a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing down on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely.
• Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Whisk eggs in another large bowl. Add sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk in milk, butter, and lemon zest until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing with a fork, until dough is smooth and stiff. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats; set aside.
• Using a lightly mounded tablespoon of dough, roll the dough firmly between your palms to make a smooth round ball, about the size of a walnut. Repeat process, taking care to make sure all the balls are fairly uniform in size. Place balls on prepared baking sheets spacing about 1 inch apart; you should be able to fit 24 balls on each baking sheet. Flatten tops slightly with your fingertips.
• Transfer to oven and bake until bottoms are lightly browned, about 15 minutes; tops will remain pale. Transfer to a rack and let cool slightly.
• Assemble the peaches: While the cookies are still warm, use a small, sharp knife to cut a circle about the size of a quarter on the bottom (flat) side of each cookie, taking care not to crack the edges. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out enough crumbs to make hollow and hold about 1 teaspoon pastry cream. Set cookies aside.
• Place rum or maraschino liqueur and schnapps in a small bowl. Add enough red and yellow food coloring to create your desired shade of peach; set aside. Fill a shallow bowl with sugar; set aside.
• Fill each hollowed-out cookie with 1 teaspoon filling. Sandwich two cookies together so that the filling comes just to the edge, taking care not to crack or break. Using a pastry brush, brush "peach" with colored liquor and roll in sugar to coat. Transfer to a large airtight container and repeat process with remaining cookies, liqueur, and sugar. Cover container and transfer to refrigerator; let chill overnight.
• Just before serving, pierce each "peach" with a toothpick where the two cookies come together and insert the stem of a peach leaf. Alternatively, you can garnish cookies with decorative or chocolate leaves.