A while back I came home to find a bag of juicy, ripe peaches on my front porch, a gift from my next door neighbor, whose young tree had produced a mountain of tiny, but delicious peaches.
So many possibilities...
The decision didn't take long. In general I'm not a cake person. Give me a sticky, gooey chocolate concoction any day, but I cannot deny that there is something about a great coconut cake that makes me swoon.
Mild, creamy coconut, much like vanilla, pairs extremely well with a wide variety of flavors both savory and sweet, from spicy curries to sugar-laced desserts, so introduce some juicy peaches to the mix and how could I go wrong?
I have made a few cakes in my day, but I have to tell you, this batter was the best I ever tasted. One beater was not enough. I'm not too proud to admit that I licked both!
The shredded coconut in this batter might have made it dense, but the addition of diced fresh peaches counteracted that, giving the cake a moist, yet light texture.
Adding peach preserves to the whipped cream between layers gave the cake a bright pop of sweet flavor in the center.
Fresh Peach Coconut Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- 3 eggs
- 1 t vanilla
- 2 t coconut extract, 1 for cake and 1 for frosting
- 1 C peaches, peeled and chopped (plus additional for decoration)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 C coconut milk
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coconut sweetened, shredded (optional)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ C peach preserves
- 1 t brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Add vanilla, coconut extract, peaches and lemon juice and beat until the peaches are broken up into small pieces, about 1-2 minutes on high. Add the coconut milk, buttermilk, flour, baking soda and salt. Continue beating for an additional two minutes, fold in coconut.
- Generously grease two 9 inch round cake pans. Bake on middle rack of oven about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove and let cool.
- Whip cream with 1 teaspoon brown sugar and remaining teaspoon of coconut extract until stiff, then separate out about one third and blend in the peach preserves. Reserve the remaining whipped cream.
- Place one cake on a cake stand and slather top with a thick layer the cream/preserves mixture. Carefully place second cake on top then proceed to frost the entire cake with remaining whipped cream
- Peel, pit and slice additional peaches then decorate as you see fit.
- Sprinkle with additional toasted coconut.
* Adapted from "A Bountiful Kitchen".
