I have very distinct and special memories about my Mom baking in our little house in the west valley while growing up. She had a respectable repertoire that included chocolate chip cookies, cream cheese brownies, and peach upside down cake. On lucky days, there were chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven when we got home from school, and the cream cheese brownies always made an appearance when we went camping, but it was the peach upside-down cake - gooey and rich with melted butter and brown sugar - that really got me swooning.
I grew up in the 70's - a time when microwave ovens were as big as TV sets and processed food was lauded as the greatest invention since cigarettes. Despite all these "advancements," my Mom could cook. I mean really cook. I didn't really appreciate this until I started having dinner at my friend's houses and my young foodie sensibilities would twitch with distaste when the ubiquitous Hamburger Helper was put on the table or some room temperature fruit cocktail was being passed off as dessert. I was pretty smug about my Mom's cooking and how she made everything from scratch. In retrospect I know that wasn't true - she took the same shortcuts as other Mom's did. She was an equal opportunity user of Ragu pasta sauce and boxed cake mix but when she wanted to bust a move in kitchen, she was fierce. I remember being pretty shocked as an adult, however, to realize that my glorious peach upside-down cake, the Barbie Dream House of my childhood desserts, was (gasp!) made with Bisquick and canned peaches (cling! In heavy syrup!). Just thinking about this combination, even knowing how good it tastes, makes my head hang low with inferior-ingredient shame.
I first learned of this when I joined a recipe club at work. I was just out of college and working at a mail order catalog. I was interested in cooking but didn't have any real experience in the kitchen. I wanted to impress my co-workers with a recipe that would make them celebrate my majesty for years to come. I was sure the peach upside-down cake was going to make me a superstar.
My friend at work, Kevin, saw the foodie spark in me and encouraged it. He was always giving me cooking tips. He patiently wrote down directions for roasting peppers using a paper bag, he gave me cookbooks for my birthday, he made non-ironic references to pousse-cafe and he used fresh garlic, which was something I had never seen in my house. Kev talked so lovingly of the dinners he made. He actually went to the store on his way from home each night to buy ingredients and snipped fresh herbs from his garden. He even cooked while drinking red wine. Kevin made cooking sound so luxurious and fancy and adult. I wanted to live like that! This peach upside-down cake was going to be my gateway to exotic adult cooking!
Here is the recipe as I submitted it for the recipe club. I made a fancy border and even used a rubber stamp with my name...clearly this was a serious recipe - especially for people who liked flowery borders and rubber stamps. Other people submitted recipes like 40 Clove Garlic Chicken and Shrimp & Feta Rigate A La Greco (submitted by Kevin, and a recipe I still make today) and Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Sauce. It was clear I was not in the same league. I remember that realization hitting me and feeling very uncool. In one of my favorite movies, You've Got Mail, Greg Kinnear's character asks Meg Ryan's character if there was someone else. She said no, but that there was the dream of someone else. I always loved that line. I was not a great cook, but I had the dream of being one.
Even thought my beloved peach upside-down cake is no prize winner, I still like it. It is comforting and pretty and reminds me of my Mom. It is also shockingly tasty. Those canned peaches are always pleasantly uniform in color and the combination of their tartness against the sweet richness of the butter and brown sugar is delicious. And the cake is surprisingly good. Even though it is simply a vessel to hold the upside-down goodness, I have to say it is quite velvety. Every time I tell my Mom I made the cake, without fail she says "I always use extra butter and brown sugar." I always say, "I know, Mom." She is as dependable as Bisquick.
Last week, my friends Mika and Kirsten were coming over for tea. I'm still job hunting, which takes up an unimaginable amount of time, so I was just going to serve some store bought cookies. Two hours before they were supposed to arrive, I felt suddenly embarrassed that the Sugar Nerd did not have something homemade to offer. I frantically searched my cupboards for something I could throw together and was pleased to see I had the ingredients on hand to make the notorious peach upside-down cake. Mika is a professional pastry chef, so I knew I'd be taking a risk making a dessert with canned peaches and fortified flour, but she is also a lovely gal, and would probably appreciate the kitsch of it. I got busy on the velvet crumb cake and was sure to use extra butter and brown sugar for the topping. Unfortunately the pan I chose to use was a bit too big and instead of the cake coming out golden-topped with little peach half moons snuggling together in a carmelized blanket of deliciousness, there were big bald spots where the topping didn't adhere and the cake showed through. I was mortified! Epic fail!
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| yellow cling in heavy syrup! |
The girls showed up and I cleverly distracted them with my pretty tableau of vintage tea cups, champagne and flowers. Billie Holiday sang the blues in the background, backing me up with tales of her own failures. But my friends didn't smirk or look knowingly at each other, instead they remarked on how great the cake smelled. They oohed and aahed over the table. They asked me how on earth I found a cake plate that was the exact size of the cake. They giggled over the prospect of afternoon champagne. And they didn't say one thing about my sad looking cake. Of course I had to point it out - to me it was the huge elephant in the room. But they laughed and said it was going to taste great. And it did. Everyone had two pieces. We had a spectacular afternoon laughing, drinking and eating. I forgot about the cake disaster and had a wonderful time with my friends. We were having so much fun, we were still chatting into the night. Mika's husband and son came over and Aaron ordered pizzas. We drank wine and hung out until my dog and Mika's son were sound asleep. Epic success!
It was a good lesson in being easier on myself. It was good to know a can of peaches could lead to a triumphant and delightful afternoon. And it is always good to use extra sugar and butter.
I'm still not a great cook, but I have the dream of being one.
