Peach Pound Cake - 5/8/11 - Still needs some work ...

Oops, turns out this isn't for a quick bread, but for a pound cake.  Even better.  The original recipe, which is for a Lemon Poppy Pound Cake is included in a Sisterhood cookbook we put together at Congregation Shalom Aleichem about 15 years ago.  I adapted it to include peaches, and it actually almost worked.

You will need a stand mixer for this recipe.

1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Peachtree Schnapps
3 eggs
1-6 oz. cup of Chobani Peach Non-fat Greek Yogurt, well-stirred
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour + 2 tablespoons
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1-15.25 oz. can of DelMonte Freestone Peach Slices, drained, rinsed, and drained again

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and the baking soda and set aside.  Pat the peach slices dry, and then cut into small pieces.  Leave the pieces on the cutting board, cover with a paper towel and absorb as much liquid as you can.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add the sugar, beating about 10 minutes or until very light and fluffy.  Add the peach schnapps, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating one minute after each addition and scraping the bowl often.  Add the flour mixture and the yogurt to the bowl, alternately, beating on low to medium speed after each addition until just combined.

In a small bowl, combine the peach pieces with 2 tablespoons of flour and mix gently to coat.  Add the peaches to the batter, folding them in gently.  Pour the batter into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with butter-flavor Pam.  Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and continue cooling on a rack.

At the end of 60 minutes, I checked the cake, and found that while the edges were getting very brown (that's the yogurt), when I inserted a toothpick (actually, I used a Korean chopstick) it was still underdone inside, so I shielded the edges with foil and returned it to the oven for another 15 minutes.  Everybody's oven is different, so your mileage may vary.  The important thing is that you check the cake after the first hour and make any necessary adjustments.

When all is said and done, the top looks awesome, the bottom, not so much. The cake is not burned, but it is very caramelized, which is also very tasty.  I will have to rework this, but it seems either the batter was too rich with the yogurt and the butter, or the peaches were too heavy or too numerous for the recipe, and enough sank to the bottom despite my old flour trick, to cause part of the bottom to separate from the top. 

I also used  a glass loaf pan, and for a second try I would certainly switch to metal.  Having fitted the two pieces back together and turned it over onto another rack, I'm going to let this cool completely before I try to slice it.  The crumbs have been delicious, with a pleasant peach flavor from the schnapps.

And I'm still looking for a recipe for peach bread ...