Submitted by julie on
Summertime Dessert in Baltimore is Peach Cake Time.
Years ago I developed a Baltimore peach cake recipe for the Baltimore Sun newspaper. I was excited to consult with family and friends for the right texture and correct ratio of peaches to cake for the perfect recipe. Unfortunately, I never saw it in print as I was living near Washington, D.C., and there was nowhere to buy the Sun. I lost the recipe sometime during my many moves—from the U.S. to Asia, to Africa and back.
Amazingly, 30 years later at a party in California with family friends from Baltimore, I was talking with our host’s sister (Zenona Paska).
Zenona described her favorite foods from Baltimore, and I lamented that I was yearning for a Baltimore peach cake. Zenona claimed she had the best recipe—then stopped mid-sentence, looked at me and said, “Are you Tom Logue’s daughter?" "Yes that’s me," I replied. “I just put it together,” she said. “I’ve been making your recipe for Baltimore peach cake since it was printed in the Baltimore Sun newspaper."
You can only imagine how surprised I was. She told me she had given it to her friends and they declared it the best Baltimore peach cake ever! Who was I to argue? When she returned home she mailed it to me, and happily reunited, I’ve been making it ever since!
It takes a little time, since the cake is yeast-based, but for a light and moist texture it is worth the time. The dough is quite sticky so I prefer to make it in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer; however, if you don’t have a stand mixer and must make it by hand, use a dough scraper or a metal spatula to knead it. While the cake is rising you can prepare the peaches and the brown sugar topping. I don’t like it too sweet so I use the minimum of peach preserves on the top; feel free to top it off with more if you prefer your cake sweeter. The only thing I would add is whipped cream with a touch of crème fraîche and a little sugar.
