SRC – Golden Nectarine Cake from Smells Like Brownies

It’s Secret Recipe Club time!  And this month I was assigned the blog I’ve been waiting for – Smells Like Brownies by my best friend, Melissa! Yay! You may recognize the name, because we cook lunch together every week, and I often blog about it.  Melissa is a stay-at-home mommy to a very active little boy, and a precious baby girl.  She is devoted to her family and God in a way that is truly inspirational, as well as being a phenomenal baker and photographer.  She’s just the best and I am so excited to share her blog with you!

Eliminating SRC posts and dishes that we made together narrowed down the field quite a bit, but I still had no trouble finding a ton of things I wanted to make.  I actually intended to make several dishes and blog about each of them, but I kept getting sick and injured this month and had to narrow it down to the number one thing I wanted make – this gorgeous Golden Nectarine Cake.  Which is kind of hilarious because Melissa hates fruit, so I doubt she even got to try this cake.

The rest of my top “to-try” dishes (which are all vegetarian, because Melissa is a vegetarian) are Debby’s famous Mac and Cauliflower with Ritz Crust (because I’ve heard her talk about it so many times), this Broccoli and Purple Potato Gribiche (that I’ve been drooling over since she posted it), Monster Green Pea Burgers, Lemongrass Coconut Noodles, and Couscous-Stuffed Eggplant with Tahini Sauce.

Let’s get back to that cake!  I loved this recipe because it was easy for a non-baker like me to follow.  Start with two nectarines and slice them into wedges.  Is there anything more summery than stone fruit?

Make a simple batter of butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.  I loved the use of nutmeg here – cinnamon can be overused.  Spread the batter into a springform pan – Melissa said 9″, but I only have 10″.  Which just means that I cooked mine a little less, and it was a little shorter.

Arrange the nectarines over the batter in a pretty pattern.  I laid the slices in different directions on the inner and outer circle.  Then sprinkle with raw sugar and bake.  The batter is not overly sweet, and even with the raw sugar on top it doesn’t become too sweet.  I like that because I max out on sugar easily, and I thought it made the cake more versatile – suited to breakfast or as coffee cake, in addition to dessert.

Serve warm with whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Golden Nectarine Cake
barely adapted from Smells Like Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
scant 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
2 nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/4″ wedges (16 slices each)
1 tbsp raw sugar
whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Lightly butter a 9″ springform pan.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

With the mixer on low speed, stir the flour mixture into the batter with the mixer until just combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Arrange nectarines in concentric circles over the top. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake 45-50 minutes (5 minutes less for 10″ pan), until cake is golden and a tester inserted near the center (between slices of fruit) comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool until just warm.

Serve with whipped cream.

One Year Ago – Ricotta and Chard Pizza
Two Years Ago – Mini Spinach Crustless Quiches
Three Years Ago – Garlic Scapes
Four Years Ago – Strawberry Balsamic Sorbet and Jam
Five Years Ago – Muesli