Peach and Buttermilk Cake

This cake was quite simply a triumph.  From the spongy texture of the cake to the sweetness of the peaches paired down with the zing of lemon.  The kind of cake that lets the fruit take centre stage.  Yet another great recipe from Heidi Swanson’s book Super Natural Every Day.  I adapted the recipe to make it gluten free by subbing brown rice flour for the whole wheat pastry flour.  I can’t claim to totally understand the science behind baking.  (You should check this post out at Gluten Free Girl for a lesson in making up your own gluten free flour mix).  But here for some reason brown rice flour did the trick.  The cake wasn’t crumbly as gluten free cakes tend to be.  The sponge was wonderfully light.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Recipe adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson.

310g (11oz) brown rice flour

1 tablespoon gluten free baking powder

70g (2.5oz) Demerara sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 large eggs

300ml buttermilk

55ml natural yoghurt* (the recipe calls for 355ml buttermilk but I didn’t have enough so subbed the yoghurt instead).

60g (2oz) unsalted butter melted and cooled

Grated zest of 2 – 3 lemons

2 ripe peaches cut in to slices (you could also use plums or other summer fruit here).

1 tablespoon of Demerara sugar for the top

Preheat oven to gas mark 6, 200°C, 400°F

Line a 9 by 13 inch rectangular baking pan.

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and sugar.  In a medium bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, yoghurt (if using), butter and lemon zest.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.  Spoon the batter in to the prepared baking tin and push out towards the edges.  Place your sliced peaches across the top of the cake in whatever pattern you like.  Sprinkle the cake with sugar.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake is set and a skewer inserted in to the centre comes out clean.  Leave in the pan for a few minutes before turning the cake out on to a wire rack to cool.