The Old-School Southern Cake That Makes Peaches The Star

If you're looking for an easy dessert to make that's so delicious you can eat it up with a spoon — literally — look no further than those fresh, ripe peaches you just brought home from the market, some ingredients you likely have sitting in your pantry and refrigerator, and make yourself a peach spoon cake. Kathleen Boureston, home cooking expert and creator of the food blog Gonna Want Seconds, in an exclusive discussion with Food Republic, called it "pure comfort in dessert form."

Made with flour, milk or buttermilk, sugar, butter, baking soda, baking powder, and, of course, peaches, Boureston noted that spoon cake has a tender, pudding-like consistency. She explained that spoon cake differs from a cobbler, which is made with a biscuit or drop-dough topping, and from a crisp, which has a crumbly, buttery oat topping. With spoon cake, the batter is poured right over the fruit. This, Boureston said, "creates a custard-like layer around the fruit with a soft, cake-like top."

"Think of it as a cross between a cobbler and a warm cake," the recipe developer added, "where the fruit and cake melt together. It's especially great served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream." While it's hard to confirm spoon cake's origins, some assume it is derived from spoonbread, a moist souffle-like bread that President Monroe loved, made with cornmeal that has Southern roots.

Kathleen Boureston told Food Republic that using fresh, ripe, freestone peaches is the gold standard. She prefers varieties, like Elberta or O'Henry, because the pits release cleanly, and they tend to be super juicy and sweet. You can look for the tastiest peaches at the grocery store by observing their color and feeling them for softness. "If you can get your hands on locally grown peaches at their peak," Boureston added, "that's ideal. Nothing canned or underripe comes close." If you find peaches in the store that have great color but aren't quite ripe enough, the quickest way to ripen fresh peaches is by placing them in a brown paper bag.

Before pouring the batter over the peaches, Boureston suggested tossing them with sugar and a little cinnamon or nutmeg. Of course, spoon cake can be made with other seasonal fruits. Many recipes call for strawberries or blueberries. "No fancy equipment or techniques are required," Boureston said. "Just real ingredients and that Southern knack for turning fresh fruit into something unforgettable."