blissful eats with Tina Jeffers: Peach Millet Upside-Down Cake

Welcome to the first official week of summer!  That means it’s time for simple dishes that use the freshest ingredients.  Like this upside-down cake that I made for the first time.  It’s a simple buttermilk based cake that I jazzed up with the addition of fresh thyme and millet.  And did I mention that it has cornmeal in it too?  It is my new go to cake for the summer and I can’t wait to try it with some cherries or plums or whatever else is fresh from the market!  However I might have to wait for a while to make another one since I ate way more than my fair share. 

I toasted the millet before adding it to the dry ingredients in a small pan on the stovetop for just a few minutes until it was fragrant.  It helps keep the millet nice and crunchy and adds a great texture to the cake.  Try to have your eggs, buttermilk and butter at room temperature for the best results.  Make sure to use peaches that are ripe but still firm to the touch for the prettiest cake. 

Peach Millet Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

 For the topping:

  • 3 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 medium ripe peaches, skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4 inch wedges

For the cake:

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup millet toasted
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons thyme finely chopped
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk 
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 stick unsalted butter 
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs

 Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, and coat the sides with butter as it melts.  Sprinkle ¼  cup sugar evenly over the bottom of the skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown.  Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar.  Fill in the center of the circle with remaining peaches.  Reduce heat to low, and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes.

Whisk cornmeal, millet, flour, baking powder, baking soda, thyme and salt in a medium bowl.  Beat the stick of butter and 2/3 cup of sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl.  Combine the buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Scrape the bowl as necessary and mix only enough to incorporate the ingredients after each addition.

Spoon the batter over the peaches, and spread evenly using an offset spatula.  Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.  Transfer skillet to a wire rack, and let stand for 10 minutes.  Run a knife or spatula around edge of cake.  Quickly invert cake onto a cutting board.  Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches, and carefully remove skillet.  Let cool slightly before serving.

hello dear readers,

i feel as if i need to add that tina gave me a slice (or 2) of this amazing cake today and it is absolutely delicious...my only complaint is that i was forced to share with mr. french and b too!  

xo mrs. french

~for more amazing goodness pop in on tina' s blog scaling back.

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