Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Peach Tea Cakes - For One

I have a huge bowl of peaches.  I don't really know what compelled me to buy, what seems to be, a bushel of peaches at the farmers market the other day.  But I did.  My quest is to "use them up"!

Last summer I made a stone fruit tea cake (here) that was absolutely delicious.  I have recreated the recipe, but individual size.  I have not delivered sweets to the G's in a while.  I have neglected them.  Hopefully, these little portions of sweet pastry dough with fresh peaches will redeem me.  I am also going to take a few to my father-in-law.  He loves anything with fruit in it!

This dough is really sticky.  I froze the dough for about an hour before working with it.  Then, cut the dough in half and put one half in the freezer while I created the bottom crust.  I pressed one ounce size portions in the palm of my hands and then put each disk in the bottom of each ramekin.  Freezing the dough made it much easier to work with.

You can use any stone fruit ( plums, apricots, nectarines, etc.) for this dish.  I just happened to have lots of peaches on hand.  These really are a must make dessert.  If I wasn't watching my girlish figure, I would have eaten all 12 of them!

Stone Fruit Tea Cakes
adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts
yield: 12 individual portions


ingredients:
2 Tbls. unsalted butter, for the ramekins
2 1/4 cups (11 1/2 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup (7oz.) sugar
6 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs
1 Tbls. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups stone fruit, coarsely chopped
turbinado sugar


instructions:
• whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together.
• cream the sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, until light and fluffy
• add the eggs, one at a time.  stir in the vanilla.
• add the flour mixture, stir until a smooth dough forms.  wrap in plastic wrap. freeze for 30 minutes to an hour.
• preheat oven to 375*.  melt some butter and brush each ramekin with the melted butter.  set aside.
• divide dough in half.  measure out 1 ounce pieces of dough from one of the portions of dough and flatten into each ramekin.  top with a good scoop of your stone fruit.  from the other half of the dough, pinch off another 1 ounce portion of dough and break it apart, unevenly, on top of the fruit.  sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  place ramekins on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• bake for about 30-35 minutes, rotating back to front half way through baking.  cool before serving or eat at room temperature.
• these keep for a couple of days so can be made the day before.

10 comments:

  1. These really look just heavenly! And your photos are beautiful.

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  2. Your peach tea cakes look amazing. Yes, it would be very hard to stick to just one!! xo

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  3. I can't believe how much baking you do. It's really extraordinary. Baking for one certainly makes taking on a baking project seem a whole less daunting! Thanks for the beautiful recipe.

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  4. These cakes look amazing, really! Is'nt true that we always buy too much peaches?? I bought some this morning and I realise (at home, too late) that I picked too much of them... I also have Rustic fruit desserts book at home and I love it! Great idea to bake individual portions!

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  5. These look fabulous! I LOVE your photos!

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  6. Peach and stone fruits are really the hit of Summer fruits for me. Lovely cakes !

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  7. I, too, made the original Stone Fruit Tea Cake recipe and had thought they would work perfectly in individual size--thanks for figuring how to do it! I'll be trying your mini-version.

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  8. These are so cute and look delicious. I love individual-serving size foods! We just went peach-picking and I came home with 7 lbs of peaches. I think some jam-making might be on my horizon!

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  9. I love stone fruit cakes, can't wait to have them back in season! This cake looks fantastic!

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  10. I saved this and now I'll be making them tonite! They look scrumptious, thank you for posting.

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