peachy keen

have you been wondering if i lost my desire to make my co-workers fat? it has been awhile since i last turned my oven on [mostly because it is so freaking hot here], but decided last night that the pigs needed to be fed. when i found [and subsequently pinned] this recipe, i knew it was the perfect end-of-summer treat. there are no better palate pleasers than peaches in august/september. well, maybe cherries in june, but who’s keeping track? plus, it called for a mini food processor. which i didn’t own and got to purchase just for this occasion. it made my desire to be ina garten when i grow up that much more intense. score.

peach cupcakes

one cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened

two and two thirds cups all-purpose flour

two and one half  teaspoons baking powder

one half teaspoon salt

two cups granulated sugar

three large eggs

1.75 ounces of freeze dried peaches, pulverized in a mini food processor

three fourths cup low-fat buttermilk

one half cup pureed fresh peach

one teaspoon pure vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line cupcake tins with liners. mix together flour,  baking powder, and salt.  set aside.  in a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together buttermilk, peach puree and vanilla extract.  set aside until needed. using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. mix in pulverized peaches. mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk mixture. mix until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed. scoop batter into cupcake tins.

bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 21 to 24 minutes.  allow cupcakes to cool in tins for ten minutes, and then remove cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack.

peach cream cheese frosting

one cup of butter, softened

eight oz of cream cheese, softened

1.75 oz freeze dried peaches pulverized in a mini food processor

one teaspoon vanilla extract

three to five cups of confectioners sugar

in a large mixing bowl, mix butter until it is softened and uniform. add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform. add vanilla extract and mix.  add pulverized peaches and mix.   add 3 cups of sugar to the mixture and mix. add more sugar if necessary.  mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable. 

the end result is a nice balance of sweet and tart. a classic with a twist. a summer snack to sooth the soul. may it leave my pigs feeling just peachy on the downhill slide of this [painfully] long week.