Peach Lattice Cake

I'm back already! Thought I'd treat everyone to two posts today in an attempt to make up for my negligence. But first I need to turn down the A/C... ... ...There, much better! Ok!

Now this creation was completed a while ago as well - remember how in my earlier post I said I've been lazy? That includes cooking laziness too. But when it was made it was a large thing - almost 1 1/2 feet long! I couldn't (or perhaps I should say "shouldn't") eat that whole thing by myself, so I brought it over to my Mom's house to share with the family.

Although the original recipe I used called for an apple filling I decided to wander off the beaten path and try a white peach filling. So I bought my peaches and coldly told Mr. C with a wag of my finger "Now don't go eating none of those peaches, hear??" until I was ready to get down to business. I was very happy with my dough consistency - it was very delicate and dainty (yes, I do realize that's an odd way to describe dough). And although I think I over-cooked the peach filling it still came out tasting delicious. It wasn't until afterwards that I thought perhaps peaches didn't need as much softening up as apples.

And last of all, I was sad that it came out looking burnt. But I was happy that it didn't taste burnt. I guess you can't win every time, huh? It was also a kind of difficult dish for me to photograph. It might have been prettier if I'd had some ice cream or fruit slices or the glaze that was supposed to go on top but I didn't make. Oh well, good enough!

Notes

1. I decided to use peaches instead of apples. I didn't change anything except the apples - everything else stayed the same. The only thing I might do different if I made this again would be to not cook the peaches so long. The only problem there is that it took a long time for the sauce to get thick enough to make a nice filling. I have a feeling I might have had very juicy peaches though.
   
2. My dough was fairly sticky. I didn't want to add too much extra flour because I wanted a nice tender dough, so when I did the kneeding I used the rubber spatula in one hand to help lift the dough and used the other hand to quickly push the dough into itself. Still kinda messy, but better than it would have been had I stuck both hands in there.

The Verdict

I thought it came out really good! And my Mom, sister, and friend all said they liked it. I do think it could have used more filling. I would make this again though - would love to try other fillings too.


Here is the recipe from Technicolor Kitchen:


Ingredients

Dough:

• 2 Tbsp warm water (105ºF to 115ºF)
  
• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
  
  
• 1/2 cup whole milk
  
• 6 Tbsp sugar
  
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced, room temperature
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 large egg yolks
  
• 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  
• 2 to 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  
• 6 Tbsp (packed) golden brown sugar
  
• 1 1/4 pounds Golden Delicious apples (about 3 medium), peeled, cored, quartered, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices (I used white peaches instead)
  
• 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
  
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
  
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  
  
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray or vegetable oil
  
• 1/3 cup vanilla wafers

Glaze: (I didn't make this or any glaze)

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp (or more) orange juice

Makes 8-10 servings.

Directions

1. Dough: Place 2 tablespoons warm water in small cup. Mix in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 6 minutes.
   
   
2. Stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt in medium saucepan over medium-low heat just until sugar dissolves and butter melts (mixture should be just warm). Scrape milk mixture into large bowl; cool to lukewarm if necessary. Whisk in yeast mixture, egg yolks, orange peel, and spices. Add 2 cups flour; mix with rubber spatula until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Knead until smooth and silky, sprinkling with more flour by tablespoonfuls as needed, about 6 minutes – it’s a very tender dough, delicious to work with. Place in clean large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and kitchen towel. Place in warm draft-free area (I use my microwave oven); let rise until light and almost doubled in volume, about 2 1/2 hours.
   
   
3. Filling: Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar. Cook until thick grainy sauce forms, about 1 minute. Mix in apples (or peaches). Cook until apples are tender and sauce is reduced to glaze, tossing often, about 7 minutes. Mix in all grated peels and spices. Cool filling at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.
   
   
4. Place large sheet of foil on work surface; spray with nonstick spray. Turn dough out onto foil. Roll out to 14x12-inch (35x30cm) rectangle. Sprinkle cookie crumbs in 4-inch-wide (10cm) strip down center, leaving a 1/2-inch border at top and bottom. Arrange apples with any juices atop crumbs. Starting 1/2 inch from each long side of apples, cut straight to edge of dough at 1-inch intervals, making about 13 strips on each side. Fold dough strips alternately and on slight angle over filling, forming lattice. Seal open ends of dough.
   
   
5. Slide foil with dough onto large rimmed baking sheet; trim foil overhang. Cover cake loosely with plastic and towel. Place cake in warm draft-free area; let dough rise until light and puffy, about 1 3/4 hours.
   
   
6. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake cake uncovered until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 30 minutes.
   
   
7. Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice in small bowl to blend, adding more juice by 1/2 teaspoonful if too thick. Drizzle glaze over cake. Gently run spatula under cake to loosen from foil. Cut crosswise into slices. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

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Strawberry Peach Stuffed French Toast

I have been eyeballing this recipe for a while now... It looked sooo delicious! I looooove peaches, and although strawberries are just alright on their own (in my very humble opinion), when you mix them with other flavors they can be really scrumptuous! And to top it all off, one of my favorite breakfast foods is French Toast (my Mommy used to make it for me just right). Put it all together and what do you get?? A delicious sounding concoction of delightfully sweet flavor!

Going into this I was very nervous about the whole cutting pockets in the bread thing. I suppose I had good reasn to worry...it was kinda tricky. But! I managed to get three of my six slices pocketed just fine. And the other three were definitely still useable, just with some of the filling oozing out in places. Most importantly though, it was fun to make.

Notes

1. Hmm, pockets. Tips on cutting pockets... Well, the recipe says to use a serrated knife but I say use what works. I ended up using a very sharp fish-cutting knife. I started by cutting a line along the bottom of the bread slice to give myself a basic guide. Then I went back and cut deeper, trying to cut to the edges but not through them. I recommend holding the bread in your hand as you work and not laying it on the table. That way you can kind of feel where the knife is so you don't cut through the "walls" of the bread. As I mentioned, it took me about three slices to finally get a feel for it.

The Verdict

I really loved this recipe - it was divine in my opinion. Mr. C found it tasty enough, although he's not a fan of fruit that has been heated up. I suppose he's a bit of a fruit-purist in that way. My sister thought it was alright but said the inner part of the bread was too soggy because of the filling. So she didn't like the sogginess. But I thought it was good - I give it two thumbs up!

And here is the recipe which I found at About.com: Gourmet Foods (they have a lot of fun recipes!):


Ingredients

• 1 large ripe peach, peeled and pit removed
  
• 1 pint strawberries, stem removed and diced small (I didn't use a whole pint in the filling - I saved 4 or 5 for garnish)
  
• 4 oz cream cheese, soft
  
• 1 Tbsp sugar
  
• 1 Tbsp Grand Marnier (Optional)
  
• 1 loaf of brioche, challah, or white bread, unsliced (I used a round loaf of white mountain bread from the bakery)
  
• 3 large eggs
  
• 1 1/4 cups milk
  
• 1 Tbsp sugar
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  
• butter and vegetable oil for frying
  
• maple syrup

Makes 4-6 thick slices.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
   
2. For the filling: Cut one half of the peach into 1/4 inch slices and set aside for topping later. (I cut up the whole peach to use for the filling) Dice the other half of the peach into small cubes (about 1/4"). Mash together with a fork or mixer the diced peach and strawberries, 1 Tbsp sugar, cream cheese, and the Grand Marnier (if you are using it).
   
3. Cut the bread into 1 inch slices.
   
4. Using a serrated knife, cut a pocket in the side of each slice of bread. Try to make the pocket as deep as possible without cutting through the other side. (See notes above for tips) Place 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into each pocket.
   
5. For the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and 1 Tbsp sugar.
   
6. Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat.
   
7. Place two or three slices of bread in the batter and let soak for 5 seconds. Flip over and soak again for 5 seconds. Remove the bread from the batter and place on a plate. Let the bread stand for 1 minute so the batter can soak in. Add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan.
   
8. Place the soaked bread into the hot pan. When you have all the slices in the pan, start soaking the next three pieces as described before.
   
9. Cook each side until a light golden brown. Place on a cookie sheet or wire rack. When all the pieces have been fried, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
   
10. Remove from oven and top each serving with sliced peaches (or sliced strawberries). Serve with maple syrup.

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