Movin to the country....

gonna eat a lot of peaches.  It never fails - every time I buy peaches I get that song stuck in my head!  It is currently peach season, so I had to take advantage of the fresh produce.  I absolutely love fresh peaches so I figure why not incorporate them into a cupcake.  While in Michigan I passed by a peach stand and picked up a dozen delicious peaches (yes, I got a little carried away).


With so many peaches on hand I decided to try 2 different recipes.  They are incredibly similar, but I could definitely taste a difference.


This first one comes from 52 cupcakes (52cupcakes.blogspot.com).  It is a peach cupcake with Martha Stewart's marscarpone frosting.

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated orange zest
3/4 cup milk
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced and cut into thirds


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt
In a separate bowl beat together sugar and butter until they are fully combined.  then add the eggs (one at a time).  Then add the vanilla and orange zest and beat until all ingredients are combined.  Add in a portion of the flour mixture, then a portion of the milk, and keep alternating until all ingredients have been added and the mixture is smooth.  Gently fold in the peaches.  


Divide the batter into the cupcake pan and bake for roughly 20 minutes.  All ovens vary, so the main goal is to make sure the cupcakes spring back if lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.  


Place the cupcakes on a cooling rack and make sure they are completely cooked before frosting or you'll have a runny mess!


Icing - I thought this was a light and fluffy alternative to a standard cream cheese icing.  Mine didn't turn out the prettiest, but still tasted great.


1 lb marscarpone cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar 
1 1/4 cup heavy cream


Beat all ingredients together on medium for a couple minutes.  All ingredients should be combined and have a fluffy texture.  Plop on top of your cupcakes and enjoy!


Recipe #2...


This recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen (smittenkitchen.com).  Peach cupcake with brown sugar frosting

3 all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 large peaches peeled and chopped 


Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.  In a seperate bowl mix butter and 2 sugars until combined and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time.  Once blended add in vanilla.  Then add the buttermilk.  Once combined slowly add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time.  Once all ingredients have been added, fold in the peaches.


Divide batter into cupcake pan and bake at 350 degrees for roughly 18 minutes.  Once baked let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack.


Brown Sugar frosting
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Whisk together brown sugar, corn starch, and powdered sugar.  Set aside.  In a seperate bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy (roughly 2 minutes).  Add the sugar mixture and the vanilla.  Beat for another 2 minutes or so.  Once the cupcakes are cool, top with frosting and enjoy!


I had quite a few peaches left over after making both cupcake recipes, so I decided to try bourbon peach chicken!  Recipe from myrecipes.com


5 peaches - peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup bourbon (I used Jim Beam)
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 skinless/boneless chicken breasts


Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan - bring to a boil - cover and reduce heat to let simmer for 30 min.  Combine peach mixture, bourbon, brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt in a blender and blend for 1 min until smooth.  Transfer to 13x9 baking dish and cook at 250 degrees for 2 hours and 15 minutes!  Once ready coat cooked chicken breast and enjoy.  As you can see I paired the chicken with corn on the cob.

After all of that I have to say the second peach cupcake recipe was my favorite.  I think they were some of the best cupcakes I have ever made!  The peaches made the cake so moist and perfect.  I liked both icings a lot, but if I had to choose I would probably go with the brown sugar.  I will definitely be making these again!!  Perfect summer treat!.  

xo

j