Rustic Peach Upside-Down Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We spent the day at Baker Bay. It was family-type gathering and we spent most of the afternoon on the water. Food was simple. We had the most basic of barbecues, with choices limited to hamburgers, hot dogs or Sloppy Joes. The salads, some of which were delicious, were a pot luck affair and did a lot to help dress up the meal. I was asked to bring desserts. Because everything was being kept simple, I kept with the program and brought desserts that would fit in with the meal. We brought one of those old-fashioned crank ice cream maker to amuse the kids, as well as my version of a Texas sheet cake, and a couple of the Peach Upside-Down cakes I'm sharing with you tonight. The cake is barely sweet, but it has wonderful flavor thanks to the peaches and the unusual addition of toasted cornmeal to the cake batter. Those of you who favor desserts that are barely sweet will enjoy this unusual version of upside-down cake. The cake is easy to prepare but there are a few pitfalls you'll want to avoid should you decide to make it. Resist the temptation to increase the amount of peaches called for in the recipe. Doing so will result in a damp and soggy cake that no one will enjoy. As for the peaches themselves, you'll want to work with firm, just ripe fruit, or frozen fruit that has been thawed, drained and patted dry. Truly ripe peaches are way too soft for this dessert and you'll end up with a mushy cake that is an eyesore. The recipe comes from Cook's Country magazine, so you can rest assured that it has been tested and will produce a nice dessert. If you are looking for something new to try, you might want to experiment with this cake. Here is how it is made.

Slow Cooker Peach and Blueberry Crumble

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The bins at our local farmer's markets are nearly groaning from the weight of  fruits that have already been harvested. Early apples, apricots and plums have made their appearance and peaches, though just starting to come to market, are also plentiful this year. The peaches, however delicious, present a problem, because they all seem to ripen at the same time. I've been looking for simple ways to prepare them before they become candidates for the compost pile. I found this recipe, which I have only slightly modified, in Beth Hensperger's Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker, and I use it a couple of times every summer to make a dent in my own overzealous fruit purchases. I think you'll like this dessert, but I want to point out that crumb toppings that are baked in a slow cooker will lack the crispy crunch of their oven-baked cousins. I've found the crumbs can be made less soggy if the lid of the slow cooker is lined with several layers of paper toweling that will catch the moisture that accumulates as the fruit cooks. As you skim through the recipe, you'll find that I do not peel the peaches I use to make the crumble. I find they better hold their shape when the skins are left intact. The skins seem to disappear as the peaches cook and leaving them in place certainly makes preparation of the crumble much easier for the cook. I am all for easy. This is a nice family dessert and it is a perfect way to end a summer barbecue. I do hope you'll give the recipe a try. Here is how the crumble is made.