Isn't That Just Peachy: Peach Blueberry Cake

When I started this blog, I fully intended to write at least one entry a week.  I've been negligent.  It's not that I haven't been cooking; far from it.  I've just been enjoying summer too much.  I have a ton of pictures and quite a few recipes that I planned on blogging about.  I've written the blogs in my head.  I usually do that when I have trouble sleeping, which is quite often.  I have to restrain myself from getting out of bed in the middle of the night and jumping on the computer.  I've learned that can be counterproductive to my sleep cycle. So my big dilemma is, where do I start?  Since I am smelling the aroma of freshly baked peach blueberry cake, I guess I will start there.

Peach Blueberry Cake

 This cake is adapted from Gourmet Magazine, August 2005

For the crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For filling

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon minute tapioca
• 4large ripe peaches, halved lengthwise, pitted, and each half cut lengthwise into fourths
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• sprinkle of fresh grated nutmeg 

Butter and lightly flour a 9" spring-form pan. (I use a non-stick pan and still buttered it)

Make the crust:
In a food processor pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg and vanilla and pulse just until dough clumps together.  Do not over-process.

Press dough onto bottom and about 1 1/2" up the side of spring form pan . Chill crust in pan until firm, about 30 minutes

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Make filling while crust is chilling
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Using a spice grinder (I have an extra coffee grinder that I use for spices), grind 2 tablespoons sugar with flour and tapioca in grinder until tapioca is powdery, transfer powder to a large bowl and stir in remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Add peaches, blueberries, and lemon juice and gently mix.  Spoon filling into chilled crust. Grate a little fresh nutmeg over the top of the fruit.

Loosely cover with a sheet of foil, and bake until filling is bubbling in center and crust is golden, about 1 3/4 hours. I took the foil off the last 10 minutes of baking to allow for a little browning.

Transfer cake in pan to a rack.  After 10 minutes, run a sharp knife between the cake and the side of the pan.  This will help the cake to release from the sides of the pan if any of the fruit bubbled over the edge of the crust while baking.  Cool another 10 minutes, then carefully remove side of pan.

Cool cake to room temperature, then cut into thick wedges with a sharp knife.

It really doesn't need anything else, but if you want to be really decadent, spoon on a dollop of fresh whipped cream!