Fresh Peach Coffee Cake

The Breakfast Bread Pudding went down well at brunch. It was tasty and easy enough to eat that it did not distract from the football game.

Our niece likes to drink mimosas while watching Sunday morning football games, so I decided we would need more carbs at half time to soak up the alcohol. (Redskins fans are long-suffering, and I was uncertain how many mimosas would be needed to dull the pain if the game was a blow-out for the bad guys.)

I served this coffee cake warm from the oven with a dollop of whipped cream - yum. It is light-textured yet dense - good with a cup of coffee if mimosas aren't your thing.

It's quick and easy to make. I combined the flour and butter in the food processor and then refrigerated it while we were at the farmers market. When we got home, I stirred in the remaining ingredients and put it in the oven.

I topped it with fresh peaches and blueberries. Plums, nectarines or apples would be good too. There is not enough fruit to make this health food, but I made it with all organic ingredients, no chemicals or trans fats. Just good honest food. And a welcome treat in our lunches for the rest of the week.

Fresh Peach Coffee Cake
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp grated orange peel (from one organic orange)
1/4 cup butter, diced in 1" squares
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 large peaches
1/2 cup blueberries

Streusel topping:
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peel the peaches, either by using a regular potato peeler if the peaches are firm enough, or by cutting an x in the skin and immersing the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, then into a cold water bath until cool enough to handle -- then peel off the skin with your fingers. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pits, and cut the flesh into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange peel in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles cornmeal. Tip mixture into a large bowl. (If you don't want to use a food processor, put the ingredients in a large bowl and cut with a pastry blender or two knives until it reaches cornmeal texture.)

In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Stir in milk and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture. Stir until just moistened. (Don't do this in the food processor - it will overbeat the batter.)

Spoon batter into a well-greased 7 x 11-inch baking pan. Arrange the fruit on top and press it in lightly.

Make the streusel topping by combining the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use your fingers to work in the butter until well-mixed. Scatter over fruit.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm, with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Makes 8-12 servings.