Have a Lot of Summer Peaches? Make Peach Pecan Cardamom Cake!

Fresh, seasonal peaches are worth the year-long wait.

Peach Pecan Cardamom Cake with Streusel Topping. JeanMarie Brownson/TCA

Peaches and cardamom, two of my favorite flavors in the world, pair beautifully together. The combo works well in savory dishes such as chutneys and grill glazes, or sweet options, including beverages and baked goods.

Fresh, seasonal peaches are worth the year-long wait. To my mind, the perfumey, creamy quality of a Michigan peach can’t be beat. However, I would never pass up a Georgia peach for cooking and out-of-hand eating. Unless they are marked local, skip supermarket peaches that have been trucked, held, and refrigerated before they are ripe, as they will most likely never ripen properly.

Please do not put unripe (hard) peaches in the refrigerator. Instead, set them directly on the kitchen counter, stem side down. Let them ripen there until they barely give to gentle pressure from your fingertip. Once they are ripe, enjoy or refrigerate in a single layer for several days.

Peel peaches destined for a beverage or dessert. Unpeeled peach slices brighten any green salad or cheese platter. Use very soft fruit in purees such as the one that follows, as the base of a sparkling beverage, or add salt to make a poultry or pork chop glaze. Use ripe, yet still firm fruit, for adding to muffins, quick breads, and pies.

A touch of cardamom in almost any peach recipe adds a unique flavor. Used widely in Middle Eastern and Nordic cuisines, cardamom comes from seed pods of plants in the ginger family. Like ginger, it has a heady aroma, peppery taste, and slightly musty, lemony-mint flavor.

Ground cardamom proves quite expensive; its slightly oily property means it can stale easily, so it’s best purchased in small quantities. I like to purchase whole green cardamom pods because they stay fresh for quite a long time. They can be added whole to chutneys and stews. Or, toast lightly, then cool and grind in a spice mill or grinder into a powder. Store this highly aromatic powder in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and use it within a few weeks of grinding.

Serve the following peach pecan cardamom cake slightly warm with a scoop of the peach-flecked whipped cream. FYI, I’d never object to sipping on a cardamom-spritzer while eating the cake. Double peaching—perfect for me.

A touch of cardamom in almost any peach recipe adds a unique flavor. JeanMarie Brownson/TCA

Peach Pecan Cardamom Cake With Streusel Topping

Serves 8

Note: You can substitute 2 cups (12 ounces) diced thawed frozen peaches for the fresh if desired.

• 3 large ripe peaches

For the streusel topping:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup each: all-purpose flour, packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted if desired

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon molasses or honey
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon each: salt, ground cardamom

For the peach whipped cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Pinch each: salt, ground cardamom
• 2 to 3 tablespoons peach preserves

Heat a deep saucepan of water to the boil. Add one peach to the water and roll it around with a spoon for 30 seconds to loosen the skin. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool. Repeat with the remaining peaches. When cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to remove the peel. Halve and discard the pits. Cut peeled peaches into 1/2-inch pieces. You should have about 2 cups.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch metal baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper. Grease the paper.

For streusel, put butter, flour, brown sugar, cardamom, and salt in small bowl. Use clean fingers to work everything together to make a smooth mixture. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate while you make the batter.

For cake, beat the butter and granulated sugar in a medium-size bowl until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Beat in molasses and lemon rind. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom just until flour is incorporated. Gently fold in diced peaches.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Crumble the streusel evenly over the batter. Bake until the center of the cake is set and the edges have pulled away from the pan, about 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

For peach whipped cream, whip cream in a medium-size bowl until quite foamy. Beat in salt and cardamom and beat until soft peaks form. Add peach preserves and beat just until incorporated. Serve squares of the warm cake with peach whipped cream.

Cardamom Peach Puree

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Note: Use the minimum quantity of syrup and salt for a puree destined for a beverage. Use the larger amounts for a glaze for grilled poultry or pork.

• 2 ripe peaches
• 2 or 3 tablespoons agave syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat a deep saucepan of water to the boil. Add one peach to the water and roll it around with a spoon for 30 seconds to loosen the skin. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool. Repeat with the remaining peach. When cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to remove the peel. Cut peaches into large chunks, discarding the pits.

Put the peach chunks, syrup, lemon juice, cardamom, and salt into a blender. Process until a smooth puree. Refrigerate covered up to several days.

Cardamom Peach Spritz

Makes 6 drinks

Note: Use sparkling water or lemon-lime soda instead of wine for a non-alcoholic beverage.

• 1 to 1/2 cups cardamom peach puree, see recipe, well chilled
• 1 bottle (750 mL) dry sparkling wine or prosecco, well chilled
• 6 lemon slices
• 6 fresh mint sprigs

Put 3 or 4 tablespoons of the peach puree into the bottom of six stemmed wine glasses. Fill each with sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon slices and mint sprigs. Serve immediately.

JeanMarie Brownson/TCA

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