Peach Johnnycake

I love that word, Johnnycake. It reminds me of my great grandma. She lived out in the country in an old farmhouse on hundreds of acres of land with some horses and a fresh water springhouse. She had loads of wild blueberry bushes on her property and if we went out there and picked ‘em, she’d make blueberry johnnycake for us.

This is a version of that cake using peaches instead of blueberries because that’s what I happen to have on my kitchen counter getting riper by the minute. Unfortunately I don’t have any of those old recipes from my great grandma. I so wish I did. So this is adapted from the Rustic Peach Cake recipe in the 2010 Cook’s Illustrated American Classics Magazine, which seems fitting since she was definitely an American Classic too.

Ingredients:

• 4 Small Peaches – peeled, pitted and sliced
• 2 Tbsp Raw Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Cup Corn Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup Raw Sugar
• 1 Stick of Unsalted Butter – softened
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Sour Cream
• 1tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° Grease a 9” springform pan.

Toss the sliced peaches with 2 Tbsp of sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the corn flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, beat 1/2 cup sugar with the butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

Add the corn flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just enough to combine. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Arrange the peach slices on top of the batter and sprinkle the top with a little sugar. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Slice and serve with Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream.

Sources:

• Peaches – Mead Orchard
• Corn Flour – Wild Hive Farm
• Butter – Cabot
• Eggs – Fertile Minds Cooperative
• Sour Cream – Hudson Valley Fresh