Peach Upside Down Cake

Grease an 8-inch cake pan, then line it with an 8-inch parchment round, also greased.Peel the peaches. This can be accomplished easily if you blanch the peaches first. This will loosen their skin and the task is not nearly as messy as it would be with a knife.Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl large enough for all the peaches. With a paring knife, lightly score an X onto the bottom of each peach. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop the peaches into the water for 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, move the peaches into to an ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Once the peaches have cooled, the skin should peel off easily. Slice each peach in half, remove its pit and cut each half into appropriately sized wedges.Prepare the topping. Melt the butter and brown sugar.

Pour this mixture, while still warm, onto the bottom of the lined cake pan. Arrange the peach slices in an attractive circular pattern all around the bottom of the pan. Set it aside while you prepare the batter.Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the egg one at a time until well combined.

Add in vanilla and orange zest. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Slow down the mixer and slowly add in the flour alternately with the 2 tbsp of milk.

Mix until combined.

Spread the batter over the peaches and bake the cake for 50 minutes or until golden brown, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. If it has a particularly large hump in the center cut this off with a serrated knife. You will get a better presentation if the cake sits flat and solid. Set a serving plate over the top of the cake pan. Using kitchen mitts because the pan will still be quite warm, invert the caked quickly.

Let it sit undisturbed until you are confident it has removed itself from the bottom of the pan.

Remove the pan and carefully peel away the parchment paper. You may need to slightly adjust the peaches to make the presentation as pretty as possible.

Serve warm with barely sweetened whipped cream on the side.