Sometimes life and circumstances beyond my control collide in such a way I’m left feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious. This pretty much sums up the last two weeks spilling over to this week, too. Last Tuesday my youngest sister gave birth to her second son and I was busy caring for my nephew for a couple days. Then, my husband with our kids left for Ohio and Michigan for a family reunion while I stayed behind. Initially I stayed behind because of my sister’s pregnancy but then, my sister stationed in Germany was able to fly home and my other sister from Spokane is also arriving soon. This will be the first time my five siblings and I have been altogether since my dad passed away six months ago. For those of you who have been following my journey of having my mom move in with s on Everyday Alice, then you know it’s been a difficult transition for me. And if this week wasn’t already busy enough, we decided to unexpectedly make an offer on a bigger house to accommodate our growing family better. With mom living here now, one bathroom will not do for a family of six people, not to mention we are a bit cramped. As a result I’ve been spending practically zero time on my computer and all my time working on clearing blackberry brambles, laurel bushes, de-cluttering, and cleaning the house. Who knew getting a house ready to sell was so much work!?
Last week I wanted to share with you this recipe for Peach Blueberry Coffee Cake but was too tired to write after the physical demands of intensive yard work. But today I’m taking a short break before getting into my grubby clothes to get this recipe to you before going outside to cut more laurel hedging. This coffee cake uses fresh peaches and blueberries and goes quite nicely with a cup of coffee or tea. It’s not too sweet and can be served warm or cold. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do!
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 peaches, sliced thinly
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole pan with non-stick spray. In a small bowl combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to make the sauce for the base of the pan. Cover the base of the cake pan with the sauce using a pastry brush. Starting from the outside perimeter and working your way towards the center, line your cake pan with the peaches and then with the blueberries. CAKE: In a medium-large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light – approx. 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Gradually add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking powder, salt, orange juice and flour. Mix well for 3 minutes scraping the sides and bottom down half way through. Add cake batter to the top of peaches and spread the batter evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until done. When cake is done, allow the cake to sit on the counter top for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the pan with a knife and flip it onto a plate. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!
ooooo! Always looking for new ways to use peaches and blueberries and the ‘upside down’ aspect of this recipe with all that carmely brown sugar goodness is perfect!! Thanks!
kk at
SugarBeams
Thinking about you, Alice! It’s amazing how life’s crazy moments can come together all at once, but make sure to take care of yourself, too! Life will settle down, I’m sure. Thanks for taking the time to share this recipe. It looks absolutely delicious!
This look delicious . The pictures are so pretty and full of colour especially the two from top. I m new here, so i m going to explore more through your interesting blog.
The peaches looks so luscious and golden yellow. I’ve always wanted to try making upside down cakes, but I’m always too worried that the fruit will stick or that the cake will come out in pieces. Is the base sauce suppose to help the fruit/cake stay in one piece?
The peaches look amazing uncooked! Good luck with your move.
How big of a casserole dish should I use? Is 2 qt big enough?
I love the 2nd photo near the top, with the fresh fruit and eggs all lined up along the edge of the plate. You really create gorgeous compositions and make simple ingredients look so good!
Life certainly has a way of throwing curve balls at times, doesn’t it? First of all I’m so sorry for the loss of your dad. I think it’s wonderful that your sister had a baby, healthy I hope. Try to enjoy this time with your sisters, they are rare when everyone lives so far from one another.
I sympathize with your sister who just had a baby. It’s so awful losing a parent right before the birth of a child or anyone close to you for that matter. I lost my dad one month before my daughter was born, 22 years ago. I did all I could to hold in my emotions for fear I would hurt her in some way. When she was born, I looked at my husband, told him he could go home now and to have my mom and sisters come into the room. I then proceeded to cry for 2 hours. I couldn’t stop and had them hold my beautiful little girl because I just couldn’t get a grip. I just needed to have a really good cry, with them.
Be thankful that you have your family around and although you might be missing a trip with your husband and kids, it’s not often we can spend time with our own sisters, brothers and mom. Make the best of it!
Oh and by the way, your blueberry peach coffee cake looks fantastic and your pictures are so vivid. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
I’m amaze you can find time to write a new post while getting ready to put your house on the market…good for us followers of your blog though. I wish you speediness in getting a good offer on your current house and a stress free move to your new one. Take care.
I think its a female trait to constantly feel torn between house, family, garden and kitchen. I hate when life gets so crazy that cooking becomes one of the chores. Thank you for making the time to share this with us. I’m going to take off the garden gloves and get into the kitchen to make this ASAP. Hope you have an uneventful peaceful week :c)
I love peaches and blueberries. This cake makes it feel so summery! Good luck on all of the yardwork and good luck with the new house and everything!
Looks delicious, Alice . . .
Ooh, it’s like a peach-blueberry upside-down cake! I’m in!
Really lovely one!
I like the pictures so colourful!
I hope things go well with the house and that you get some calm and rest soon 🙂
This looks perfect. We are stocked with peaches right now – I’m excited to make it!
I’m so making this…serving it for dessert…and topping it with ice cream!
This sounds so yummy! Awesome recipe 🙂
Wow you’ve got a full plate! sorry…couldn’t resist the pun. Best of luck with the transitions. This coffee cake is a gorgeous capture of summer. Yum!
This sounds awesome! I have a big pint of blueberries in my fridge just dying to be made into this tart. Ok…maybe that’s a little drastic…but seriously, Yum!
You’ve certainly got your hands full. I know getting a house ready to sell is a huge job but every minute you spend on it is one less you’ll have to wait in selling it. Enjoy your time with your family – and smile. Life’s good. Especially with this coffee cake!
xoxox!
Hi Sarah, there is no parchment paper. I accidentally included that step to remove it because I usually do use it. But it is not needed for this recipe.
quick question: where does the parchment paper come in? is the dish lined or greased? thanks!!
This looks like the perfect thing to cheer up a too cramped household of hungry folks!
xxoo,
RMW
This looks wonderful! I think I’ll try making a non-dairy version of it next week.