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Monday, May 31, 2010

Grange Favorites: German Peach Cake






German Peach Cake - light, delicate, flavored with almond, vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon.  This is as good as it gets.


This is Memorial Day weekend, and in Vermont that means only one thing:  Yard Sales.  In Vermont, they don't come and pick up your trash every week, like they do back in civilization.  No, you have to take it to the dump, I mean the Recycling Center, and pay by the pound.  This leads inevitably to reevaluating the income potential of one's detritus; hence Memorial Day Yard Sales.

We took a break from the gardening to check out a few, from Mt. Holly to Brandon to Killington.   Along the way, I picked up some terrific items for a quarter, and a few for a dollar.  But none were as fascinating as the Vermont Grange Favorites cookbook from 1980, which is so full of wonderful recipes that it makes me recognize my inner Grange lady.   My husband handed me the book, but he was reading a small slip of paper that fell out of it. 

It was a handwritten note, a memo from 1963, from Mrs. Margaret D. Pencheff "To Bertha from Peggy's Happifying Kitchen"   Subject  "GERMAN PEACH CAKE".   


Ever skeptical, I looked at it.  It was interesting, because the process is non-obvious; I wouldn't assume that what Peggy was describing would work at all.  But if it did, it would be lovely.  I rushed home, after stopping at a few more sales.

This recipe uses canned peaches, and I am still using up the ones I canned last Fall; I added a few blackberries, because I like them with peaches.  And I used a flan pan with a removable bottom, which gives a nicer presentation than the pie plate mentioned in the recipe. 




German Peach Cake






In Preparation:
Spray an 8 x 12 - inch removeable-bottomed flan  dish with cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 375F

Ingredients

Crust:
1/4 lb. butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 T sugar

Filling:
12 oz jar of home-canned peaches, drained, or  a #2 1/2 can canned peach halves, drained
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1/2 of a beaten egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup frozen blackberries




Process

1. Crust:  Combine Crust ingredients in food processor, mix well.  Sprinkle into the prepared flan dish, and press first up the sides, leveling at the top.  Then smooth the bottom of the pan, and press lightly.




2. Place the drained peaches on the crust. 

3. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the peaches.

4. Combine the cream, egg yolks, beaten egg, and extracts in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the sugared peaches.  Dot with frozen blackberries, then put a pinch of sugar on each blackberry.

5. Bake 45 min at 375F. 

6. Cool to warm, then Enjoy!  It's quite remarkably good.




And enjoy the day!  From Sue's Happifying Kitchen.....





4 comments:

  1. Looks delicious! Almost like a clafouti with cream and eggs as a filling. All your recipes are so terrific. I'm especially impressed with your cheese and sourdough. Pretty incredible. Coming back to Vermont for my college reunion this weekend after 5 years of being away...I'm SO excited!!

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  2. Thanks for the recipe, and the peony photo!

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  3. Thank you Elizabeth! I had the same thought about clafouti... have a great time in Vermont!
    Sue

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  4. Hi Sue! Thanks for sharing this recipe - it was what I was looking for. My husband's family background is German, and his mom used to make this for them. He remembers it as the best thing he had ever tasted as a kid. He requested that I try to make a Pfirsich Kuchen; he described it and I looked for recipes. When I showed him your picture - he said that's what it was, exactly.

    I've made it and it was amazing! He loved it, and so did I. I am making another one today, as he has requested it for his birthday.

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