Baltimore Peach Cake-Summer

Baltimore Peach Cake-Summer
This cake is has a sweet and rich yeast dough topped with fresh peaches.

Makes 2 9-inch round cakes or one sheet pan 12”x17”x1”

1 package yeast (fresh or dry)
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 1/4 cups flour (divided)
3/4 cup milk (room temperature)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soft unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 or 7 peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into slices
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup /4 ounces Bonne Maman peach or apricot preserves

1. Make a sponge first by dissolving the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1 cup flour and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. Mix well on low speed until well incorporated this should take about a minute. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow sponge to rise for about 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

3. Using the mixer with the flat beater again stir the yeast mixture well. It should be smooth and silky. Add to it the rest of the sugar, salt, 1/4 cup softened butter, milk, and 1 cup flour. Mix well, incorporating the remaining 11/4 cups of flour on low speed.

4. Knead the dough in the mixer using the flat beater for about 3 minutes.

5. Put light coating of vegetable oil on sides and bottom of a 2-quart bowl, place dough in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm draft free place until double its original size. At this point, the mixture should be the consistency of wet puffy bread dough. In the mean time in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, and cornstarch and set aside (this mixture does not have to be well mixed—the butter can remain in chunks).

6. Butter cake pans or sheet pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Stir dough to deflate. Divide dough in half with dough cutter if using the cake pans. Using a rolling pin and some flour, roll the dough into the shape of the pan but it should be slightly smaller than the pan. Place one in each pan. Arrange slices of peaches on top of dough in nice, neat concentric circles.

7. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over peaches, cover pan with plastic wrap and allow cake to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.

8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and arrange rack to the middle of the oven

9. When dough has risen to almost double in size, remove plastic wrap and bake peach cake in the middle of the oven. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake for about 35 minutes. To test with a thermometer the center should register 180 degrees.

10. Heat apricot or peach preserves in a saucepan. Using a pastry brush, coat the entire top of peach cake while it is still hot from the oven. Can be served hot or cold. Best to eat the day you made it.

NOTE: If conditions in your kitchen are very humid, you’ll probably need more than 3 cups of flour. In other words, you should add enough flour to be able to knead it. The resulting dough, however, should still be a little sticky, or tacky, to the touch.