Upside-Down Peach Cake

Cake Batter

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and spray the inner sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray-with-flour. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set it aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract, and beat until the mixture is light.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, scraping the bowl often, until the batter is thick.

Peach Topping

• 2 large ripe peaches, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ cup brown sugar

Pour melted butter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with brown sugar, and arrange the sliced peaches in a single layer on top of the sugar. Carefully spoon the batter over the peaches. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake. Remove the cake from the oven and set it aside 30 minutes until it is warm. Place a cake platter over the top of the cake pan and invert the cake so the peaches are on top. Remove the parchment paper and cool completely.

Yield: one 9-inch cake