¼ cup unsalted butter
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
1 lb ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¾-inch-thick slices
Cake
1 ¼ cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature
⅓ cup milk
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)
1. Place oven rack in lowest position; heat oven to 350. Grease 9x2-inch round cake pan.
2. Topping: Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet. Add sugars, crumbling brown sugar; cook, stirring over medium heat, until mixture bubbles and looks creamy and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and spread evenly to coat the bottom. Arrange peach slices on top of butter mixture in concentric circles.
4. Cake: Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl until blended. in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. On low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture, milk, extracts, then the remaining flour mixture until batter is smooth.
5. Spoon batter into cake pan, and using a spatula, gently spread batter over peaches in an even layer to reach the sides of the pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until top is golden brown and a pick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Let cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge. Invert a serving plate over top of pan. Using oven mitts, invert cake onto platter (replace any peach slices that stick to pan). Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream, if desired.
I didn't have almond extract, so I used my orange extract instead and it worked just fine. The original recipe actually calls for using a cast-iron skillet but I also don't have one of those. It works well using the non-stick cake pan.
