BC’s Okanagan Valley produces wonderful peaches, and people stock up on them for canning as well as enjoying them fresh from the orchard. In addition to incorporating peaches in breakfast or snacks, they’re great in desserts such as this old fashioned cake.

You’ll want to use an 8″ x 8″ pan, and bake the cake in a 400 F oven. Begin checking the cake at 35 minutes but, depending on your elevation, this one may take up to 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• peaches – two or three, depending on their size
• butter – .25 cup if you’d like to use coconut oil* in the batter; .75 cup if you don’t want to bake with coconut oil
• * .5 cup coconut oil if you’d like to use it in the batter
• egg – one
• brown sugar -1.5 cup (I use Demerara)
• milk or soy milk – .5 cup
• flour – 1.5 cup
• baking powder – 2 teaspoons

Step One: The Batter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F
2. Whisk one egg
3. Melt .5 cup of butter and add to the mixture or, alternately, substitute .5 cup of coconut oil
4. Add .5 cup of millk or soy milk, and gently stir in to the egg
5. Add the flour, baking soda and sugar, and stir
6. Set aside while you prep the peaches, which will go into the pan before the batter

Step Two: Peaches, Glaze and Batter

1.  Wash, peel and slice peaches
2. Arrange peach slices at the base of your cake pan
3. Heat .25 cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar together; I pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds
4. Stir the butter and sugar mixture, and pour them over the peaches
5. Spoon the batter over the peaches and sugar mixture

Step Three: Bake

1. Place in the 400 F oven; you may wish to place a baking/cookie tray beneath the cake pan, just in case any of the juices bubble up and over
2. Allow 35 – 45 minutes to bake. When the cake is brown and crusty, insert a toothpick or salad fork in the centre of the cake. If it comes out cleanly, your cake is done.
3. Invert the cake on a heatproof plate, and prepare to enjoy.