Il CLUB delle prime...TORTE!

Le ricche donne di Santa Barbara, quando non sono impegnate in attività "lavorative" come andare dal parrucchiere o fare shopping, adorano organizzare e partecipare ad eventi, meeting, e feste di ogni tipo...ovviamente tutte a scopo benefico! Tra queste, quella che più mi diverte (immagino Bree, di desperate housewives, tutta intenta tra i fornelli a dosare il colore della glassa :-)) è la gara di dolci: ogni invitata prepara una torta che sottoporrà al giudizio di una severa (e voi sapete quanto una giuria di donna possa esserlo) giuria di donne che, alla fine, decreterà una vincitrice!
Insomma, la cosa mi fa davvero sorridere, sarà divertente assistere ad una cosa del genere! :-)
Guardate allora un pò qua le foto di queste meravigliose torte...sapreste fare di meglio? Io no! 

Ci sono tre categorie rilevanti .... "sapore migliore" .... "grembiule migliore" .... e "miglior storia"....

E' una cosa seria, sono cuoche, casalinghe e golose di ogni tipo...

sembrano finte per la loro stupefacente bellezza, invece sono proprio fatte in casa...

ed ogni concorrente può personalizzare il proprio grembiule!

Ma non sono solo bellissime, anche deliziose...

e biscotti e risate e amicizia e...

dolci che sembrano disegnati...

ma vi è di più, ogni partecipante deve presentare il suo dolce, raccontarne la sua storia, il perchè della sua scelta, un ricordo o un sentimento a questo legato...

...immaginate la storia di questa Tequila Christmas Cake...

poi, però, il grave compito di verificare il numero dei voti...  

ecco la vincitrice per la categoria "miglior gusto", è l'artefice della torta di pesche...

vi ho fatto venir voglia di organizzare una gara di torte?

E visto il successo, per chi ha il coraggio di provare a farla, ecco la ricetta:

MAILI’S PEACH CAKE WITH BURNT SUGAR SHARDS

The secret to this cake is buying the best peaches possible.
I wait every year for Prima Peaches to come in season.  They are
so addictively delicious.  I sauté the peaches in butter and a
little butter and sugar so there are fresh peaches on
top of the cake as well as inside it.

For Peaches:

1 pound sliced peaches (about 3 cups) for inside of cake.
Additional peaches will be needed for top of cake.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

a pinch of kosher salt or sea salt

For the Cake:

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

3 cups unbleached white flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups cooked peaches (note:  the three cups of peaches will cook down to about 1 1/2 cups.
Reserve some peaches for the top of the cake or just cook more.  The more peaches the better!
Also remember to reserve the liquid from the cooked peaches for the frosting.

For the Frosting:

2 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened

2 sticks of unsalted butter

2 1-pound box of powdered sugar

1/4 cup of peach syrup (liquid after you cook the peaches)

For the Shards of Sugar (to garnish additional peaches and to garnish top of cake)

1 cup Sugar

For the peaches: Heat a large skillet to medium high heat.  Add butter and peaches.  Sprinkle with sugar.  (if the peaches are not naturally sweet you may need more sugar.  The peaches I use are very sweet and only need a little sugar)  Add ground ginger and a pinch of salt.  Set aside.

For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour 2 8-inch-round cake pans.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them completely into the butter mixture after each addition.

In a separate bowl combine all of the remaining dry ingredients:  flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix or sift together well.  Add the dry ingredient mixture alternately with the sour cream.  Stir in the vanilla extract.

Fold in 1 1/2 cups ofcooked peaches into the cake batter.  Divide batter evenly between cake pans.  Baked for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove cakes from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then invert onto cooling racks to finish cooling.

Make the Frosting: It is probably best to make the frosting in two batches unless you have a really big bowl.  So put one block of cream cheese, one stick of butter and one box of cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix until well blended.  Mix in reserved peach syrup from your cooked peaches.  Then make another batch exactly like it.

Make the burnt sugar shards: Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  In a large stainless steel saucepan, place the sugar.  Heat over medium high heat until sugar begins to melt and brown.  Do not stir.  Tilt the pan if you need it to melt more evenly.  As soon as the sugar is a beautiful amber brown color pour it onto the parchment paper lined sheet tray.  Slightly tilt the pan so it spreads around.  It should harden immediately as it cools.   When it is completely hard break it into shards by either hitting it with a mallet or dropping the tray so the sugar cracks.

Frost the cake.  Just before presenting place more sautéed peaches on top of the cake for garnish.  Place some of the sugar shards on top of the peaches.  Garnish around the cake with peach halves and quarters and piles of burnt sugar.