COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE

Juicy tree ripen peaches are showing up at the markets right now!  I just purchased my first bunch and every one of them were ripe, sweet, juicy and ready to eat.  We have a market here in Seattle featuring the most delicious organic peaches from both Washington and California State.  They put together a website with valuable peach information as well as some nice recipes too.  If you love peaches as much as I do take a look here.  It is very uplifting to walk through the door of this market and not only see…but smell the peaches during Peach-O-Rama!

Peaches and cream or strawberry shortcake?  Here I combined both for a fresh summer treat.  These rustic cakes are very moist and not too sweet.  And I added honey to sweeten up the fruit just a little.  For us this is a bit heavy following a sit down dinner.  Occasionally we have had this as a mid day treat, instead of lunch.

I n g r e d i e n t s 

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 pint strawberries, cleaned and halved
• 3 plump juicy peaches, diced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

s h o r t c a k e

Heat oven to 400° F.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl.  Add the butter.  Using your fingers blend until crumbly.  Add the milk and stir until just combined (do not over mix)

Drop 6 large mounds of the dough 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and sprinkle with a little sugar.  Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

f r u i t

Combine strawberries, peaches and honey in a bowl and mix well breaking up slightly to create a little juice.

w h i p p e d   c r e a m

In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form.

Assemble cakes as desired making sure to give each a generous amount of whipped cream.

Serves 6.