Marlene Wheeler of Baltimore was looking for a recipe for a fresh peach cake. She remembers with great fondness one that was made by Gerstung's bakery in East Baltimore. Connie Devine of Bel Air sent in a recipe for a Baltimore Peach Cake that she clipped from the News American newspaper in the summer of 1967. Now is the ideal time to make this simple yeast cake while the local peaches are at their most flavorful.
Recipe requests
* Linda Everett of Knoxville, Tenn., is looking for a recipe she has misplaced for a cottage-cheese poundcake that appeared in a women's magazine in the early '80s. It was baked in a bundt pan.
* Barbara Caine of Forest Hill says many years ago, she got a recipe from the Sylvia Scott television show for a Ribbon Cookie. She remembers it called for butter, flour, powdered sugar and oatmeal. The dough was divided into three balls and colored, rolled and layered in an 8-by-3-inch pan. It could be adapted to any holiday.
If you are looking for a hard-to-find recipe or can answer a request, write to Julie Rothman, Recipe Finder, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278, or e-mail recipefinder@baltsun.com. If you send more than one recipe, put each on a separate piece of paper or attachment with your name, address and daytime phone number. Names and addresses must accompany recipes to be published. Letters may be edited for clarity.
The nutritional analyses accompanying recipes in today's You section were calculated by registered dietitian Jodie Shield, except where noted.
baltimore peach cake
(Makes two 9-inch cakes; serves 16)
Raised Dough:
1 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup sugar (for sweeter dough, double the sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cake compressed yeast or 1 package active dry yeast
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soft butter or shortening
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups flour
Filling:
4 to 6 ripe peaches, washed and thinly sliced, unpeeled
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or orange juice (to prevent sliced peaches from browning)
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze:
1/3 cup apricot jam
1 tablespoon hot water
powdered sugar for garnish
Mix together milk, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in egg and butter or shortening. Add half the flour; mix well. Add remaining flour and mix until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured board or surface and knead until blistered. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to bring greased side of dough to the top.
Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, let rise again until almost double in size, about 45 minutes. Divide dough in half and pat dough into two greased round 9-inch cake pans. Arrange sliced peaches overlapping one another in a circle, beginning in the center and extending to outside edge. To keep peaches from turning brown, sprinkle with lemon or orange juice. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle mixture over peaches. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 25 to 30 minutes. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
To make the glaze, mix jam and hot water and brush on top of cake as soon as it is taken out of the oven, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Per serving: 199 calories, 4 grams protein, 4 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 38 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 22 milligrams cholesterol, 160 milligrams sodium
