Peach Kuchen

I was on the hunt for a recipe for Peach Kuchen.  Once upon a time, I had this fabulous dessert and the baker called it a peach kuchen.  It was moist and had huge pieces of gorgeous, ripe peaches in it.  Unfortunately the internets were not kind to me in my search for a replica recipe.  Since I'm not much of a cake baker, I figured that I should use some sort of recipe, so I settled on this one.  I essentially did a Google image search and chose the one that looked the most similar to this elusive peach kuchen that I had eaten.

Well folks, the search continues.  While this recipe yielded a decent cake, and most of its problems were probably my fault (my oven is super hot, maybe I did overmix it, etc. etc.), I was not satisfied.  Of course, that lack of satisfaction didn't stop me from eating a piece of the cake for breakfast every day this week...oops. (Remember that "healthy" diet, you guys need to help me work on that one! Though I did do a good job of running this week, I swear!)  I'm definitely not saying this recipe isn't worth making, but I would highly encourage experimentation with this one, which I may do before the peaches are out of season.  It's a good cake, but not the kuchen of my dreams.

PS it was also a great excuse to use my new springform pan! As a new-ish cook, I didn't have one, but found a really nice one at HomeSense for super-cheap.  I also found the Jonathan Adler plate in the second picture...so pretty!!

Peach Kuchen
From Comfy Cuisine

2 lbs. ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (about 5)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp. heavy cream

Boil water in a medium pot or using an electric kettle.  Pour enough boiling water over peaches in a large bowl to cover.  Let stand 1 minute to loosen skins; then drain, and plunge into cold water for a few seconds to prevent softening of fruit.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice to prevent darkening.  Slice into a bowl, toss to coat with lemon juice, and set aside.

Sift flour with the sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a large mixing bowl, using a fork, beat eggs with milk and lemon peel.  Add flour mixture and melted butter and mix with a fork until smooth - 1 minute - Do Not Overmix (I may have over-mixed mine, though I think I only mixed it for about 30 seconds).

Butter a 9-inch Springform plan, or 9-inch round layer cake pan (If a cake pan is used, Kuchen must be served from pan).  Turn batter into the pan; spread evenly over the bottom.  (At this point, kuchen may be refrigerated several hours, or until about 12 hours before baking.)

Drain peach slices, arrange on batter, around edge of pan; fill in center with peach slices. Combine sugar and cinnamon and mix well.  Sprinkle the peaches with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake 25 minutes.  Remove kuchen from oven.  With a fork, beat egg yolk with cream.  Pour over peaches.  Bake 10 minutes longer.  Cool 10 minutes on wire rack.