Sweet Peach Cake

TO THE 4.7 BILLION-TRILLION PEOPLE CURRENTLY READING THIS FIRST BLOG POST OF MINE:
I would like to say, "Welcome." Welcome to Meal and a Movie, where I'll be going places many no women have gone before in the world of food, movies, and clothes—all while on a college student's budget. It's going to be so much fun.

Like opening-a-new-jar-of-peanut-butter fun.
Or WHOA-this-parking-meter-already-has-30-minutes-on-it fun.
Or I-just-bumped-into-James-McAvoy-at-my-local-grocery-store-and-he-helped-me-carry-my-bags-to-the-car-and-now-we're-engaged! fun.

I was lucky enough to find myself in two of those situations this morning. You can decide which ones.

I think you get the picture, though. We're gonna have fun here. Let us begin! 

With Sweet Peach Cake!

I did not originally plan for this Peach Cake to be my blog's first recipe. I planned to make some sort of fancy-pants layered cake and WOW you with my attention to detail and piping skill. Due to a misunderstanding between my Dad and I, however, which involved us accidentally going to the grocery store at the same time, our household ended up with a TON of peaches . A literal ton. The kitchen floor caved in under their weight and I landed upon a heap of debris and old board games in my garage.

It was all worth it in the end, though, because with those peaches, a glorious dessert was made. A dessert that came straight from the kitchen of Giada de Laurentiis, and involved a few tweaks from yours truly.

Sweet Peach Cake
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

Time: 3 hrs, including cooling

Yield: 8 - 10 servings

For the Cake:

Butter for greasing

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 fresh peaches, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces.

For the Glaze:

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350º .

2. Butter and flour a 9x9 glass pan.

3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a medium bowl until blended.

4. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla in a separate large bowl to blend.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir until blended.

6. Stir in diced peaches.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan.

8. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.

Glaze:

9. Melt butter in saucepan or microwave

10. Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into a medium-size bowl.

11. Add melted butter to powdered sugar.

12. Add three tablespoons milk.

13. Add vanilla extract.

14. Beat until smooth and creamy.

15. Drizzle over COMPLETELY cooled cake.

This cake takes quite a while to bake and cool. Instead of kneeling down in front of the oven, turning on the light and drooling on your kitchen floor as the cake rises, my sweet-toothed friends, I suggest laying on the living room carpet and watching my dog, Oliver, OBLITERATE the remnants of a jar of Jif Peanut Butter with his eight-foot tongue. It's better than television. 

Well, at least better than Whitney. Or Two Broke Girls. I am in no way implying that Oliver's peanut butter love-sessions are better than Mad Men, however, which has grabbed hold of my heartstrings over the last four days, snatched me into its fandom and won't let go until I have finished all five seasons. Hopefully by the end of this weekend.

ANYWAY. Once the cake is cooled, and you've added your glaze, feel free to add some thinly sliced peaches as decoration. Pretty snazzy, eh? EH?!

My glaze ended up as more of a thick icing. If the gooey, classic, cinnamon bun glaze is what you're lookin' for, be sure to add at least 3 tablespoons of milk.  

Enjoy this sweet, flavorful, wonderfully moist cake!  

Thank you so much for reading! All 4.7 billion-trillion of you!

No, but seriously. Thank you. Get ready for some fun.