Peaches, Pearls and Pansies...Oh My!!

One of my favorite summer treats has to be a succulent ripe peach. I got hooked on the treat one summer trip to visit some family in Virginia. My grandmother’s family is all from the South, some residing in Georgia. This trip, they brought bushels of peaches with them from Georgia and from then on, I was hooked! (I’m also now hooked on Southern Sweetened Iced Tea but that’s a different cupcake for a different day)

Recently I went to the wonderful Davis Square Farmer’s market (Wednesdays from 12-6. Go and support your local farmers!!) I happened upon some un-pass-up able peaches. I b-lined it over to the Peach Man’s tent and bought about a dozen of the ripest, fuzziest, juiciest peaches.

Now, normally I do not admit to Mama Rachel being right but one thing she has always said and it remains to be true is “Blair, your eyes are bigger than your stomach” I always take too much and waste things. This time it was with peaches, a sassy single girl does NOT need a dozen peaches!! Crap I thought, peaches past the peak of perfection (say that five times fast) are just no good! What to do, what to do? Ding! The idea light bulb went off in my peach inspired brain. Why not experiment with some peachy cupcakes?

I used a basic white cake recipe from the Joy of Cooking and doctored it up a bit. The results were amazing; little bits of peach in every bite and a delectable peach nectar icing. The cupcakes were a big hit at my kickball team’s kick-off BBQ. I will admit that they were a bit dressy for such an affair topped with sparkly pearls and pinkish purple pansies. They may have been better suited for a bridal or baby shower but they were yummy nonetheless.

Peach Cupcakes

3 ½ cups sifted cake flour (or regular flour, unsifted)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 sticks room temp butter
1 2/3 sugar
8 large egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar (ehh, use or don’t use)
1/3 cup of sugar
2 peaches finely chopped.

Preheat oven to 375 deg.

Before you start making the batter, peel and finely chop the peaches. Put them in a small bowl and sprinkle with about 2 tbs of Sugar. This masticates the peaches and produces a ton of peach nectar. (Okay time to stop giggling, these are real cooking terms here people!!) After making the cupcake batter, squeeze the juice out of the peaches and set nectar and peaches aside.

Now for the batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and teaspoon. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine milk and vanilla. In a large bowl beat butter until it’s nice and creamy. Gradually add the sugar into the butter until mixture is light and fluffy (takes about 3-5 minutes). On a low (trust me, if you don’t you end up with a poof of flour all over the joint) setting add the flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with the milk mixture which you should divide into 2 parts.

In a new large bowl (I know lots of bowls, right?!) beat the egg whites and cream of tartar. Side note: I like to freeze the yolks to save for later recipes. I’ve defrosted them and used them for a great hollandaise on Eggs Benny. After you have beaten the egg whites so that soft peaks form when you take the beaters out of the bowl add the 1/3 cup of sugar. You’ll then beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Use a spatula or spoon to fold the egg whites into the batter ¼ of batter at a time.

After combining egg whites and batter, fold in the chopped and masticated peaches. Distribute into your lined cupcake pans and bake at 375 for about 10 – 20 minutes. I’m giving you this big of a time frame because my landlord has blessed us with an oven that is older than life and baking times always vary for me. I tend to poke the cakes with a skewer every 5 minutes or so after the 10 minute mark. When the skewer comes out clean, they’re done.

Peachy white icing:

Combine in a bowl mixing again on low speed, 4 cups of confectioners’ sugar, 1 stick of room temperature butter, 4-6 tablespoons of peach nectar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. I also added a little of peach food coloring because I had it and I like when foods are the color of the flavor that they are supposed to be.