Family and friends always ask me if it took me all day to make my Peach Cake With Pistachios. The truth is, it doesn’t. I’ll show you how easy this dessert is to make.

The sweetness from the fresh peaches and that kiss of saltiness from the pistachios give this cake great flavor and texture. This cake is so moist you’re not going to believe it! I do have a secret ingredient, and I’ll explain that in a minute.

I start with making the batter.

Reserve the vanilla bean pod(s) for your granulated sugar. You’ll have vanilla-flavored sugar for future recipes.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 to 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Equipment: Stand mixer with paddle attachment, large mixing bowl, medium-size mixing bowl, small mixing bowl, offset spatula, 1 (9 x 9-inch) baking pan

Ingredients:
20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) of butter, unsalted and at room temperature, reserve 4 tablespoons for buttering the pan
1 1/2 cups of vanilla-flavored granulated sugar (reserve 1/2 a cup for the cinnamon sugar mixture)
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
4 ounces sour cream, room temperature
4 ounces of ricotta cheese, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups of all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon of baking powder, sifted
1 teaspoon of baking soda, sifted
1 teaspoon of kosher salt, sifted
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of pistachios, roughly chopped
Garnish:
Powdered sugar or a dollop of fresh whipped cream

Instructions:
Start by buttering a 9 x 9-inch baking pan well.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, start by adding the room-temperature butter. With the mixer on low speed, add the sugar, turn the mixer to medium speed for about 3-4 minutes until the butter is light and fluffy.

Next, reduce the speed to low, and add the vanilla and two room-temperature eggs, one at a time. Let that mix for a minute before adding the room-temperature sour cream. To that, add my secret ingredient, the ricotta cheese. Let that all combine. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the dry ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and Kosher salt. Turn the mixer back to low speed and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined. Turn the mixer off. You don’t want to over-mix the ingredients once the dry ingredients have been added to the wet. Remove the paddle attachment and scrape as much batter as possible from the paddle. You want all that delicious batter for the cake.

Next, I peeled, cored, and then sliced five peaches in a medium-sized bowl. In a small bowl, add the ground cinnamon and sugar, and whisk to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add half the batter to the bottom of the greased baking pan. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter out evenly on the bottom of the pan.

Arrange half of the sliced peaches into the batter, and sprinkle them with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. Next, add the remaining half of the batter and spread that over the sliced peaches. Arrange the remaining sliced peaches, pressing them gently down slightly into the batter. Once more with the rest of the cinnamon sugar, sprinkling it all over every part of the cake.

Finally, sprinkle the top of the peach cake with chopped pistachios. Transfer the cake to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to rest.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. If a toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready. Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting.

I like to serve my Fresh Peach Cake With Pistachios warm or at room temperature. Maybe with a dollop of fresh whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar, YUM!

There you have it, my Vanilla Sugar.

Note:
1) Reserve the vanilla bean pod(s) for your granulated sugar. You’ll have vanilla-flavored sugar for future recipes.

2) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.