Peach Coffee Cake

I follow a lot of baking blogs, websites, Facebook pages of bakers and food related companies.   But one of my favorites is C&H Sugar on Facebook.  Yah, it’s a sugar company… but did you know they also post recipes?  This weekend C&H posted a recipe for peach coffee Bella cake and I was inspired!

So, I ran to the store, bought a can of peaches some cinnamon and a couple loaf pans (mine are still in a box, on a boat, in transit from the States) and sat down with this recipe from C&H and worked it, tweaked it and made it my own.

Note:  I’m going to make this coffee cake again for a meeting on Tuesday and I plan to spice it up even more.  I’m going to make a little bit extra of the topping mixture and gently fold it into the batter.  Just enough so swirls of it will be in the cake after baking.   I’m also going to add just about a 1/2-1 tsp of cinnamon into the flour.  Not much… but just enough to add a little more flavor to the cake.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

JavaCupcake’s Peach Coffee Cake
Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large loaf

Topping
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, room temperature and very softened

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients.  Roll the mixture between your fingers to make sure it’s all mixed into the butter.
2. Set aside.

Cake
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 can sliced peaches, drained
1-2 tbsp flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Grease and flour your pan(s).
2. Drain the peaches.  Separate out 1/3 of the peaches and dice into small chunks. Dredge in the 1-2 tbsp of flour.  Set aside.  Slice the remaining 2/3 peaches in half the long way (lengthwise). Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together using a hand mixer or stand mixer the melted butter and sugar.  Add the egg and mix until combined.  Lastly, slowly mix in the milk.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour, salt and baking powder.  In thirds, fold into the mixture with a spatula.  Turn mixer on for 15-20 seconds only to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
5. Fold in the diced peaches.
6. Fold in the sour cream.
7. I made two small loaves, so I put half of the mixture into each pan.
8. Spread 3/4 of the topping mixture over the top of the batter.
9. Using the sliced peaches, line the top of the topping with peaches, spreading them out evenly.
10. Spread the rest of the topping over the peaches.
11. Bake 35-45 minutes or until browned on top and a knife comes out clean in the center of the loaf. Rotate your pans 180 degrees about 20 minutes into baking.
12. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pans and cooling on a wire rack.
13. Or… don’t let them cool completely and cut yourself a slice and eat it warm.
14. Share the second loaf with a friend.