peach pound cake.

This is probably my favorite time of year when it comes to fresh fruit at the farmer's market. Raspberries, blueberries, and marionberries (our state berry) are everywhere and now suddenly my all-time favorite, peaches, are making their appearance. I love peaches in desserts more than I can say. My ultimate comfort food is warm peach pie with French vanilla ice cream on top (which I will more than likely bake and blog about in the next month), but really, I love them in anything. Their juiciness and sweetness rivals all other fruits in my opinion. Plus, their color and all-around fuzzy beauty is something to be adored.

While at the market on Saturday, I purchased four gorgeous and plump peaches that were just begging to be made into something delicious. While browsing Allrecipes last night, I came across a recipe for a Georgia Peach Pound Cake that sounded perfect. I had snagged some adorable half-size tube pans at an estate sale over the weekend, so I decided to make a miniature version of the cake (if you hadn't noticed around here, we love tiny desserts). I added a caramel glaze to the top and there you have it: a sweet and delectable peach cake.





Peach Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze

Ingredients:

For cake (just halve the ingredients for a smaller cake, like I did)
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and chopped
For caramel glaze
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 inch tube pan and coat with white sugar.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Reserve 1/4 cup of flour for later, and sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Use the reserved flour to coat the chopped peaches, then fold the floured peaches into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make glaze: Mix together the butter, brown sugar, and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Remove from heat and pour immediately over warm cake.