Peaches and cream cake
This recipe is adapted from one in “The Cake Mix Doctor.” The original version is an excellent cake, moist and delicious, but without any hint of peach flavor. I added the peach gelatin mix, producing an even better cake — but still one that blindfold tasters probably would never identify as tasting peachy. Setting aside its lack of peach flavor (a problem only to the baker, who wanted it to taste like peaches), this was the hands-down favorite of two groups of people who tried a number of doctored-cake-mix cakes, and I’ve made it a lot since. The frosting of sweetened whipped cream is elegant — and extremely rich.
Ingredients
• 1 (29-oz.) can peach halves packed in heavy syrup
• 1 (181/4-oz.) pkg. butter-recipe yellow cake mix
• 1 (3-oz.) pkg. peach-flavor gelatin mix
• 1/2c. (1 stick) butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
Frosting:
• 11/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/4c. plus 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
Directions
Prepare the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch-round cake pans.
Drain the peach halves, reserving ½ cup of the syrup. Purée the peach halves in a food processor until the mixture is smooth.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the peach purée, cake mix, gelatin mix, butter, eggs and vanilla. Blend 1 minute at low speed, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat 2 minutes or more at medium speed, until the mixture is smooth.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, smooth the tops and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the layers spring back when lightly touched with a finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Set the layers on wire racks for 10 minutes to cool slightly, loosen each from the side of its pan, invert onto a rack, then invert again to upright. While the layers are still warm, poke holes all over their tops with toothpicks. Pour the reserved syrup over the layers ( 1/4 cup over each) being careful to get all the syrup to soak into the cake, not run off the sides. Let layers cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Beat the cream in the small bowl of an electric mixer until it has begun to thicken. Add the sugar and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Fill and frost the cooled cake.