My sweet friend Nancy gave me peaches from a local orchard. The peaches were gorgeous; they had a uniform yellow-orange background with splashes of reds and pinks painting the surface. And smelled heavenly. So, I decided to make a Peach Buckle. The batter of a buckle is filled with fresh fruit and covered with a streusel topping. When the cake bakes, the batter rises and tries to push through the heavier streusel topping, causing the surface of the cake to ‘buckle’. Many believe the Colonists developed this recipe centuries ago and is very popular in the New England States today. It is a charmingly old-fashioned dessert that deserves a comeback. To go with the Buckle, I made a Buttered Rum Sauce. Here is how I made it.
First you must peel and slice the peaches. I have found the easiest way to peel peaches is to drop them in boiling water for no longer than 2 minutes then immediately move them to an ice bath to stop cooking. The skins will slide right off. Then you can remove the pit and slice them into a medium sized bowl. I used 3 fresh peaches for this recipe, but you could use frozen peaches that are completely thawed and patted dried.
Next, prepare the streusel topping. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of flour, ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of oats, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. With your fingers, work in 5 tablespoons of cold diced butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Pop into the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
Now for the batter. Sift together 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt in a medium size bowl. In a stand mixture fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together a stick of room temperature unsalted butter and ¾ cups of sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 2 room temperature eggs one at a time beating well after each. Add 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with 1 cup of milk beginning and ending with the flour. Give the bowl a big stir with a rubber spatula and fold in the peaches only until everything is combined. Do not over mix.
Place the mixture into a 10-inch spring form pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and smooth the top. Evenly sprinkle the streusel topping on and pop the pan into a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 40 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the Buckle, it is ready.
While the Buckle bakes, prepare the Buttered Rum Sauce. Combine 1 stick of butter, ½ cup of granulated sugar, ½ cup of brown sugar and ½ cup of heavy whipping cream in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 4 minutes until the mixture is well combined, begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons of good dark rum and stir well. As the sauce cools, it will thicken more.
When the Buckle is ready, remove from the oven onto a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the springform rim and allow to cool for 10 more minutes before serving with the Buttered Rum Sauce.
This is such a good dessert, and the Buttered Rum Sauce makes it even better. I hope you will try it and think of my sweet friend Nancy. Enjoy!