Peach and Sour Cream Buckle – Recipe

Peach and Sour Cream Buckle

Maybe someday you'll be on vacation.

And on the hot, hot days, every farm stand and farmer's market and U-Pick and roadside honor box will be packed with peaches, peaches so fragrant and ripe and sweet that they would melt into jam if you looked at them cross-eyed.

And after you've eaten as many Early Havens, Red Havens, Cresthavens, Bonanzas, Bonitas and Southern Belles out of hand as you can bear, and all of your clothes are stained with juice.

Then maybe you and someone you love will bake up a buckle.

And maybe it won't be the most lovely looking dessert you ever baked. 

But it will be cakey, and sweet, and soft and crumbly and moist and filled with those glorious peaches. 

And maybe after a long day of playing in the sun, you will eat that buckle with more people, people that you love more than the world itself. And that will be much more than lovely enough.

I hope that day is today.

Peach and Sour Cream Buckle
(based generally on a Joy of Cooking recipe)
Vegetarian; not vegan nor gluten-free
Serves 8

For the streusel:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or sea salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1. Mix all ingredients except the butter in a small bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it looks like coarse cornmeal, just like when making a pie crust. It is fine if there are a few larger bits of butter. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake:

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar (I really meant to use half dark brown sugar, but forgot. If you do, let me know how it is)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 3 cups peeled and sliced peaches (about 12 slices per peach)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9×9 baking pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a mixer, beat the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until fluffy.
4. Beat in the sour cream and milk.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture and combine gently until just mixed, like you would for pancake batter.
6. Gently fold in the peaches. Your hands are probably the best tool for this. It will seem like way too many peaches.
7. Pour the batter in the pan, and sprinkle on the streusel top evenly.
8. Bake until browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
9. Let cool for 20 minutes and serve while still warm, with vanilla ice cream, yes.