This is the second post for the Bey to Bay coffee and pastry pairing collaboration project with my dear friend Jeremy Kelley. We grew up on opposite sides of the world (Beirut x Bay Area) but with the same Mediterranean climates and ingredients. Follow along our posts and our hashtag #BeytoBay on Instagram!
As we head into fall season, this is the last chance to use up perfectly ripe summer fruits. And what better way to end summer than with a boozy fruity cake? I’m such a fan of a simple cake like this one that might seem sophisticated at first but is in fact very easy to put together and I’m sure you’ll be making this again and again with different seasonal fruits. Moist, buttery, with a barely there crunch, it’s a cross between a coffee cake and a cornmeal bread. The peach slices are soaked in whiskey and sugar overnight to infuse the flavors and enhance the peaches’ sweetness. Then they are arranged on top of a whipped cornmeal cake batter and baked until fragrant, golden in color, and the sides barely pulling away from the pan. Serve it warm with great coffee (more on that below), or with some more fresh fruit, whipped cream or maybe even a delicious scoop of crème fraîche ice cream if you’re feeling adventurous.
We wanted a really special coffee that would take the soft, delicate flavors of the cake to yn,the next level but still be light on the palate. Jeremy went with an Ecuador La Papaya by Sey Coffee, which just opened their new roastery in Bushwick. These beans were grown at some of the highest altitudes on earth, giving them a really unique flavor profile of botanical complexity. Its light pomegranate notes and herbal hints of vanilla and blossom were getting infused the butteriness of the cake’s crumbs and brought out the taste of whiskey. This shift of flavor in your mouth from start to finish made the entire pairing highly addictive. We couldn’t stop wanting more.
Topping:
4 medium firm peaches (can also sub with other seasonal fruits like 300g of pitted cherries, strawberries, raspberries)
1½ Tbsp whiskey or bourbon
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Cake:
113g unsalted butter, room temperature
160g unbleached all-purpose flour
85g fine cornmeal flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
zest of ½ a small lemon
110g granulated sugar
110g packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp whiskey or bourbon
150ml whole milk, room temperature
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
1. Soak the peach slices in whiskey and sugar for at least 4 hours preferrably overnight. The next day, drain the peaches from their juices and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Butter a 9″ (23cm) round cake pan, butter and flour the pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Set aside. Beat butter with the sugars on medium-high speed until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition and beat in whiskey. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined.
4. Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Arrange the peach slices on top, pressing some down into batter. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until edges begin to pull away from pan and top springs back when lightly touched, around 50 minutes.
5. Let cool in the pan for 20 min then carefully turn out onto a wire rack (it’s fragile when warm). Let cool completely before serving.