Peach Cake

Two things:
1) This was my most successful attempt thus far at remembering to take process photos throughout a recipe... enjoy!
2) This cake is so incredible... enjoy!

Peel about 10 peaches, savoring the scent as you go... this reminds me of summers at my maternal grandparents' home in Greer, SC.  There are many peach orchards nearby, so nearly every morning when I would walk into the kitchen the sweet scent of freshly cut peaches would welcome me.  Basically, if you have yet to experience the fragrance of fresh peaches, y'all are missing out big time! 

Anyways, cut the fruit off of the pits.  Reserve 1/2 Cup of the peaches.

Dice up the rest of the peaches (should yield about 2 cups, give or take a little).

Now you have all of your ingredients for this lovely cake!

3 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 Sticks (1 Cup) Butter

1 3/4 Cup Sugar

4 Eggs

2 Vanilla Beans (the caviar scraped out)

1 Cup Sour Cream

2 Cups Peaches

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl.

Set the bowl aside for the time being.

Action shot alert!  Cream the softened butter in a stand mixer.

Add the sugar to the butter and mix until its light and fluffy.

*not pictured* add the eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition

Slice the vanilla beans in half, lengthwise, and scrape out the caviar with the back of your knife.  Add all of the vanilla caviar to the egg, butter and sugar mixture.

See all the little vanilla specks?! That means it's gonna taste super yummy...

Alternate adding the flour and sour cream to the batter in small increments, starting and ending with flour.

The batter should end up smooth and thick and creamy and speckled.

Pour half of the batter into an oiled (or buttered) and floured tube pan (or bundt pan).

Sprinkle the diced peaches evenly on top of the batter.

Cover the peaches with the remaining cake batter.

Place the cake in the oven and set the timer for an hour.

While the cake is baking, you make the glaze to pour over the cake.

Take the reserved 1/2 Cup of peaches, and blend them in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.

Stir the puree through a mesh strainer to remove any excess pulp.

Place the peach juice/puree into a small saucepan with 1/2 stick (1/4 Cup) of butter and 2/3 Cup of sugar. Stir all ingredients together on medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.  Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 Tbs of pure vanilla extract. 

After allowing the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, turn it out onto a rack set over a sheet pan with raised edges.

Take your time brushing or spooning the glaze over the entire cake, allowing the syrup to soak in a little before spreading more.

Once the cake has cooled, it is ready to serve! 

Fresh whipped cream (only slightly sweetened) would make this even more decadent and beautiful.