Whiskey Peach Upside-Down Cake

What a wonderful recipe this week, a Whiskey Peach Upside Down Cake. I love single layer cakes, especially ones where I don’t have to make a complicated frosting. Despite that, I don’t think I’ve ever made an upside down cake before. It was really easy to put together, with a guaranteed delicious moist result thanks to the batter baking in a fruity, caramelizing sauce. The whiskey flavor was pronounced, but not overpowering. If you’re not a fan of whiskey I would suggest cutting back on the amount, or just substituting vanilla.  I also threw in a handful of pecans with the peach topping, which I think added a nice crunch. If I made this again I might try substituting different fruits, like plums, pineapple, or pears. I’d also add a bit of salt to the caramel sauce, since it called for unsalted butter I think that the flavor was just a smidge bland.

I served this at a get together we threw for my husbands flag football team.  I usually just make chocolate chip cookies, but I thought that this would be a great no fuss party cake.  Despite an abundance of chips, hot dogs, stuffed jalapenos, beer, and my cousin’s killer guacamole, the cake was gobbled up before the night was over.  It makes for a great, easy, summer cake.

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Lime Tarragon Cookies with White Chocolate Lime Topping

This week we’re making Lime Tarragon Cookies with White Chocolate Lime Topping. This is the sort of recipe that I probably never would have made if it hadn’t popped up on the Baked Sunday Mornings schedule.  While I generally love citrus in desserts, I tend to favor lemons and oranges.   In fact I mostly save limes for tacos and cocktails.

I’m also new to tarragon, a licorice flavored herb. I knew that there was some growing somewhere in my local community garden, but I had to hunt it down. I spent a bit of time trying all of the similar looking lavenders before I narrowed in on something that tasted right.  It started off with a weird green taste, followed by the licorice that I was looking for.

The recipe is really simple, and didn’t take long to bake. From the ingredients, mainly sugar, butter, flour, and the flavorings, it seemed like it would result in something kind of like a shortbread. I was pretty close in my assessment, these are very similar, but a little more moist, and with a very rich buttery mouth feel.  The white chocolate is nice on top, adding a needed sweetness to go with the lime. The only difficult part of the recipe was arguably what should have been a breeze-melting the white chocolate.  A second too long in the microwave and it turned into a waxy rock, impossible to artfully drizzle on a cookie. I had to toss my first bowl full completely and try again. 

I would love to make these cookies again, but probably not with lime and tarragon. I’m just not crazy about the combination. I took these to work, and I did have a couple of people who absolutely loved them, so there is definitely a market for them. The overall size and texture of the cookie was great though, and has a lot of potential.

Next up: Whiskey Peach Upside-Down Cake