Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice!

I wanted to make something sweet for my sweet sister who brings home my sweet little niece tomorrow. Something with sugar, spice, and everything nice! I chose a recipe from Penzey's (I love Penzey's and am fortunate to have a store close to me) that I thought would be perfect: "Perfect Peach Cake."

Don't let the peach element fool you at all into thinking this is a summery cake! This is definitely a recipe for cold winter months since ingredients include brown sugar, cinnamon, and buttermilk. It was easy to make - I was able to find fresh peaches that were nice and ripe, imported from Chile. A bit pricey, but absolutely worth it. The smell in my apartment as the cake baked was decadent!

I have many Penzey's spices, including the cinnamon used in this recipe. If you have never checked out Penzey's, please click on this link and enjoy:

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html

If you love making chili, than I suggest you order the Chili 9000 immediately for the rest of the winter! I purchased it this past fall and it is the best Chili powder ever!

The cake came out perfectly, as the name says. The burst of peach amid the dark brown sugar was delicious, and the topping made it a nice hard sugar coating to add a wonderful texture above the moist cake.

Wishing everyone a sweet day!

Perfect Peach Cake (courtesy of Penzey's Spices)

• 2/3 Cup butter or margarine, softened (I used unsalted butter)
  
• 11/2 Cups packed brown sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  
• 2 Cups flour
  
• 1 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1/8 tsp. salt
  
• 1 Cup buttermilk (I used lowfat)
  
• 4 medium peaches, peeled and chopped, or 3 Cups frozen unsweetened peach slices, thawed and chopped (I used fresh peaches)
  
• 1/4 Cup sugar
  
• 1 tsp. PENZEYS CINNAMON

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9X13 pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and pure vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in the peaches by hand. Pour the batter into the pan. In a small bowl combine the sugar and CINNAMON. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake at 350° for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.