Peach Raspberry Cake

Sometimes when I go grocery shopping with my mom, it takes some convincing to get the ingredients for things I wish to make, especially when it comes to more exotic things, or recipes that neither of us had ever heard of. While this peach raspberry "cake" isn't too far fetched, it was still a lengthy discussion by the fruit stand as to whether or not the peaches smelled good enough to buy...but mom and I both agreed last night after taking our first bite of this summery dessert that it sure was a good thing we got them.

The original recipe from my mom's treasured gourmet featured this dish on the front cover of the magazine several years back, although with blueberries and peaches- I have to admit though, I'm not much of a blueberry fan so I went for raspberries instead. There is just something about peaches and raspberries that makes them meld together so beautifully in a dish- the tartness of the raspberries in such a small fruit against the sweet, soft texture of a large ripened peach is simply divine and tantalizing to my taste buds.

Also, the texture of this "cake" really isn't cakey, but more of a cross between a biscuit and a pastry dough: or a more concentrated in shape galette because of the use of the springform pan. Whether you call it a cake, a biscuit or a galette one thing remains the same: it's simply divine.

Peach Raspberry Cake

Adapted From Gourmet

For pastry dough:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Then add in the cold, cut butter and pulse until the butter is incorporated but resembles a coarse meal with some small lumps still remaining. Lastly, add in the vanilla and egg and pulse just until the dough begins to clump together, somewhat forming a ball. Transfer the dough into a springform pan, and push the pastry across the bottom and up the sides with gentle fingers. Allow the pastry to chill in the refrigerator while making the filling (below).

For fruit filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs. flour

1 tbs. corn starch

4 peaches, halved lengthwise and each half cut into 4 strips

1 cup raspberries

1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

zest of 1/2 a lemon

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar flour, corn starch and lemon zest until combined. Add in the peaches, raspberries and lemon juice, folding them in with a spatula as to not damage the fruit. Pour the filling into the chilled pastry crust.

Place the springform pan on a baking dish to make sure there are no leaks from the pan into your oven, and cover the pastry loosely with a sheet of aluminium foil. Bake for 1 hour +45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Then, cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing the sides. Serve warm.