It’s Peach Season! Here Are Delicious Ways to Eat ‘Em!
Don’t you just love peach season? But as it’s so short lived, we all know we better eat as many as we can and in as many ways as possible.
While there’s not much better than eating one out-of-hand, juice dripping down my chin, I do tingle at the idea of sliced peaches atop my big bowl of vanilla ice cream. Then there’s peach cobbler, crisp, and strudel. And of course, peach pie.
But the other day I tasted a peach treat like no other. A neighbor brought over some slices of peach cheesecake. This ultra creamy cheesecake, flavored with fresh peaches, was topped with a gorgeous peach mirror glaze. Its buttery graham cracker crust complemented the velvety cheesecake layer. I’m drooling as I write.
Laurie found this scrumptious recipe on www.baking-sense.com. Eileen, the author and owner of Baking Sense, says “Whether you’re an experienced baker or a beginner, this easy-to-follow recipe allows you to enjoy a pure taste of summer.” EASY-TO-FOLLOW recipe, that’s what we want, so for your peach-season-delight, here is Eileen’s recipe.
Peach Cheesecake
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (scant) melted butter
CHEESECAKE BATTER
2 medium, very ripe peaches
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
16 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs whisked together
½ recipe of your favorite Cream Cheese Frosting
PEACH MIRROR GLAZE
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 ounces cool water
1 6+ ounce very ripe peach
1/4 cup sugar (weight after peeling and pitting)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
2. Line bottom of a 9" cake or springform pan with a parchment paper round. (If you're using a spring form pan wrap the outside of the pan with a piece of aluminum foil to cover the bottom and sides.)
CRUST
3. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour melted butter over crumbs; toss to combine. Press combined crumbs into cake pan in an even layer. Bake crust for 10 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned. Reduce oven temperature to 325 °F.
CHEESECAKE BATTER
4. Pulse peaches with lemon juice in a food processor to a chunky puree. (You can also chop peaches by hand to make a chunky puree.) Set the puree aside.
5. Mix softened cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl on medium speed, scraping bowl sides and beaters often to avoid lumps.
6. Once batter is smooth, add sour cream, peach puree and vanilla. Scrape the bowl.
7. Add whisked eggs in two stages, scraping well after each addition. Mix just until the eggs are combined, DO NOT OVER-MIX.
8. Pour batter into cake pan. Place pan on a sheet or roasting pan onto the middle rack of the oven; pour water into sheet pan, to come at least ½ way up the side of the cake pan.
9. Bake about 45-50 minutes, until the cake softly jiggles as a mass when the pan is shaken.
10. Remove from oven; cool for 10 minutes.
11. Run a thin sharp knife that has been moistened with warm water around the sides of the cake to release it from the pan (this will prevent the cake from cracking while it cools). Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
ASSEMBLY
12. Remove the cold cheesecake from the refrigerator. (If you used a spring form pan run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the pan. If you used a regular cake pan, set the cold cake pan into a bowl of very hot water for 20-30 seconds to release the sides. Run a warm knife around the sides of the cake.)
13. Place a plate or cardboard cake circle atop the plastic-covered cake pan. Immediately flip the cake over and remove the pan and the parchment circle. Flip the cake over onto a serving plate; remove the plastic wrap.
14. Pipe a border of your favorite cream cheese frosting around the edge of the cake. Return the cake to the refrigerator to chill while you make the Peach Mirror Glaze.
PEACH MIRROR GLAZE
15. Sprinkle unflavored gelatin powder over water in a microwave-safe bowl. Set aside to bloom.
16. Puree very ripe peach, sugar, lemon juice and salt in food processor or blender (you should end up with ½ cup of puree; add water to bring it up to ½ cup if needed). If the puree is cold, warm in the microwave briefly to bring it up to room temperature.
17. Heat gelatin in the microwave until it is melted, about 20 seconds. Whisk a few tablespoons of the peach puree into the gelatin then add the gelatin mixture to the puree and whisk until smooth.
18. Remove cheesecake from refrigerator; pour peach glaze over cake to fill within the frosting border. Chill until the glaze is set.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
A few other delicious ways to use our fresh peaches? Stirring diced peaches into tapioca pudding makes an easy and applause-worthy dessert. Pureeing very ripe peaches and pouring this into popsicle molds creates yummy hot-weather treats. And dicing and folding them into vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt makes for the best breakfast or snack.
Speaking of homemade popsicles, silicone molds are rapidly taking over the typical hard plastic variety. They allow the frozen sicle to slide out much easier, don’t retain odors, and don’t discolor the way the plastic popsicle molds typically do.
Speaking of Greek yogurt, one brand that reviewers continually recommend is Siggi’s Skyr®. Skyr is the traditional yogurt of Iceland that has been made for over 1,000 years. It is a strained nonfat yogurt made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures. The water naturally found in milk, called whey, is strained away to make a much thicker, creamier, and concentrated yogurt. In fact, it’s much thicker than conventional Greek yogurt.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com