Peach Cake

"Millions of peaches, peaches for me
Millions of peaches, peaches for free"

LOL :) I love peaches, they're delicious and perfect for a sweet treat. I usually enjoy them cut up with some vanilla greek yogurt and sliced almonds but wanted to bake with them. Our local orchard had a peach celebration and I got a great deal on fresh peaches...can't beat that! They were making several recipes with fresh peaches, including a peach soup (AMAZING!), peach & arugula pizza and peach sundaes. I'm excited to make the peach soup before peach season is over but wanted to make a peach cake first.

It was perfect and we devoured it in now time at all! It was moist and the peaches added just the right amount of sweetness. Hurry out, pick up a quart of fresh peaches and make this cake!

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large, ripe peaches (peeled, pitted and sliced)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts since that's what I had on hand)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 inch round baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup sugar with a stand mixer on medium-high until the butter is light and fluffy. On low, add the eggs one at a time and then the sour cream and vanilla. Mix until the batter is smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet batter and mix until just combined.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon together.

Spread half the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half the peaches and then two-thirds of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches and the sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and the nuts.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: "Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?"  Ina Garten