There is something incredibly indulgent and rich about perfectly
ripe nectarines. This lovely firm fruit is the less flamboyant cousin of
the peach. Peaches are often chosen first because of their overblown
fragrance and velvety skin. Nectarines have a more assertive slightly
tart taste, and hold up better as the accent of this buttery cake. Make
sure your nectarines are ripe, but not mushy and remove the skin before
dicing them for this cake. You will find that the fruit holds its shape
so you end up with chunks in the cooked cake. You might want to use this
glorious firm cake as a summer wedding creation topped with snowy heaps
of Swiss Meringue Frosting and fresh flowers. It would also make a lovely fourth of July cake instead of shortcake. Glorious!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 8 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup plain sour cream
- 5 cups diced fresh peeled nectarine
- Butter for greasing the pans
- Flour for dusting the pans
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and lightly grease and flour two 10-inch cake pans. Set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with a hand held mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides at least once, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and almond extract until well incorporated.
- In a small bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream in three additions, starting and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.
- Fold in the nectarine pieces, do not over beat.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the two cake pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula.
- Lightly tap the cake pans on the counter to remove any air bubbles from the batter.
- Bake the cakes until the tops spring back when they are lightly pressed and the cakes are light golden brown, about 60 minutes.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes.
- Run a knife along the outside edge of the cake pans to loosen the cakes and pop them out of the pans.
- Cool the nectarine cakes on wire racks until completely cool, about 1 hour.
- Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
- You can also freeze these nectarine cakes for up to two months if they are tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
- Frost with simple vanilla butter cream, Swiss meringue, stabilized whipped topping, or brown sugar butter cream for a delightful treat.
By Michelle Anderson
Cake Decorating Expert, about.com
