Nectarine Cake

I promise I am not trying to make this a food blog. However, I am a big fan of trying new recipes and figure, if they are a success, it is nice to share. If they are a flop, I'm always good to laugh about it.

Also, when things get hectic and stressful at work, I like to cook to keep myself balanced. It is very true what some people say that when things feel out of control, having a recipe work out makes everything feel like it is back on track.

One of my favorite food bloggers made this nectarine cake from Gourmet magazine and it looked super easy. All I needed were nectarines and I was good to make tonight. I got 4 of them for $2 on the street from one of the little vendors; they were perfect, a little tart but not too hard and not too juicy or mushy. I bought 4 just in case they weren't good, weren't the right size, etc. I also passed up doing laundry to make cake, but I don't think I'll regret that decision.

When it came out of the oven, my kitchen smelled like a donut shop I remember from childhood, with memories of pink frosted and sprinkled cake donuts that came in pink boxes tied with string.

It tastes a little big like a dry version of peach cobbler. The fruit is sweet and cooked perfectly to be tender and the cake is a little bit like a pound cake and has a definite "crust" to it, browned a little on the bottom and sides. A little whipped cream or ice cream would be great to soften this a bit. The one improvement I'd make is that I used slices of nectarines and though they cooked perfectly in the cake, eating it, I ended up not being able to sever the slice with my fork, so I just pulled it out. Diced nectarines would distribute better I think, so that you get fruit with nearly every bite.

Assembly and baking took about an hour, then about 20 minutes for cooling.

Here is is! (recipe is below)

Nectarine Golden Cake from Gourmet Magazine, September 2009 and The Amateur Gourmet
Serves 8
1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

Rounded 1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, soft

3/4 cup plus 1/2 Tbs sugar, divided

2 large eggs1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp pure almond extract (I omitted and just did a smidge extra Vanilla)

2 nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges (see note above about dicing)

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (I omitted, didn't have)

Equipment: a 9-inch springform pan

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F with rack in middle. Lightly butter springform pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.
4. Spread batter evenly in pan, then scatter nectarines over top. Stir together nutmeg and remaining 1/2 Tbsp sugar and sprinkle over top. Bake until cake is golden-brown and top is firm but tender when lightly touched (cake will rise over fruit), 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to warm.