I grew up eating Baltimore Peach Cake and my mom and I experimented with a variety of different recipes (before the internet!) As an adult I’ve gone back to the super thin yeast dough base, so it’s very much not a cake, but still delicious!
Time: 45 minutes active, 2 hours 30 minutes passive
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbs regular sugar
- 2 tsp 1/4 tsp yeast
- 2/3C whole milk at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2C all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 Tbs unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3-4 Large ripe freestone peaches (these are peaches that don’t stick to the pit, super important for this recipe
- 1/2C jelly of choice
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Combine yeast, 1 tsp sugar, and milk in a medium bowl by pouring the yeast over the milk, let sit for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast foams a bit. Add the egg and whisk.
Using the large bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, salt, and remaining sugar and mix. Attach the dough hook to the mixer. Add the milk mixture and turn on the mixer to medium for up to 5 minutes or until the dough comes together.
This is a sticky dough, but you want to make sure it comes together well. Transfer to a large buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place somewhere warm to rise until it doubles in size (approximately an hour.)
Butter a half sheet pan well.
After the dough has doubled in size, gently knead down and then spread into the pan. It’s going to be pretty thin, but crucially you want it to be even. Sometimes I use a small rolling pan to make sure it’s evenly distributed. Once spread evenly cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350*
Take the jelly of your choosing and put it in a small sauce pan on the stove, heat over lower until it achieves a syrup-like consistency. I used dandelion jelly I made last year for this one, I’ve previously also used elderberry, peach, and red currant, experiment and see what you like best.
Once the dough has finished its rise, generously brush it with the melted jelly. This should use approximately half of the melted jelly
Half the peach once and then cut that half into a quarter. Slice the quarter thinly into 1/8th-1/4 inch slices, lay them so they are just barely overlapping.
Once the peaches are placed, brush them with the remaining jelly.
Put half of the powdered sugar (1/8C) in a sifter and spread over the top of the cake.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are browned and the peaches have started to pucker. Let cool and enjoy!