Peaches & Cream Honey Cake

   Hello there! How are we today? 
  
   I've been struggling the last few weeks with the blog....I feel "niche-less", or too "niched". I write here for myself, it's true, but I want to reach people and become part of something in peoples' lives. But, when you've got a blog like mine, unless you are me, you won't come back because I post about super healthy recipes, super-unhealthy recipes, simple recipes, difficult recipes, writing about family & autism, DIY projects, health & fitness, not to mention the rest of my site which is dedicated to my art!!!! Good golly!!!

   To top it off, one particular recipe on here has been going viral, which is very exciting, but it leaves me feeling like nothing else I've done matters here...?

   Seriously, this month, only 20 pages were viewed on the site, which isn't bad, except I have hundreds and hundreds of pages! Let's take a look at the seedy underbelly of Bushel & A Peck, shall we? The top 3 numbers look like this:

~24, 609 views on the Meat & Potato Casserole  
~2, 414 just opening to my blog 
​~1, 270 on my Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies

     There's a difference of more than 23,000 views between one recipe and the next! Geepers!

   Anyway, I'm not complaining exactly.....I'm thinking out loud....thinking out type? I dunno what we should call this. 

   A few days ago I came to a realization though....I cannot fit myself or my thoughts into one niche on this blog! It's me, this is who I am! 

   Bushel & A Peck, to me, is like a flea market! You can never be quite sure what you'll get, but it's always worth coming to check, just in case! Dig around, see what you can find, see what you love, share about it, talk about it, make it, create it, fill your own bushel!!!

   I want to always share what I love, what I'm passionate about, and not get bogged down in the "but I need a niche" talk that circulates around the blogosphere! My "niche" is me!

   I think I've talked myself into a better mood!....I also turned on the sound track for The Music Man, so, I mean, that cheers me up too! : )   Also singing karaoke to show tunes (on YouTube) makes me feel better, so I'll be doing that once I'm done here!

   Thanks for listening to me rant.....shall we move on then? Great!       

The beautiful treats we were served visiting family in Belgium

    
​   In the summer when my husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law & Grandpa went to Europe, our first stop was at Grandpas cousins house in Haaltert, Belgium. I already shared part of what they served for dinner (shrimp stuffed tomatoes! Super simple, and really tasty!), but before dinner (yes before!), they served us coffee, beer, wine and cakes. I did say cakes on purpose, they served us 2 different kinds! 

   One was a beautiful pineapple topped vanilla cake, and the other was a fabulous layered peaches & cream cake. Oh, with chocolate sprinkles added! : )

   I decided I wanted to make my own peaches & cream cake when I got home, but wanted to make it paleo. I also thought it would be so tasty to incorporate a fantastic Dutch dessert, honey cake, or honingkoek, into this dessert. I like peach cobblers and crisps with nice spices, so I was sure having a spiced honey cake with the peaches and cream would be a winner!  T'was, t'was indeed! 
​

Peaches & Cream Honey Cake
Adapted from The Dutch Table & Plated With Style


Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cups almond flour/meal
• 1/2 Cup arrowroot flour
• 1 Tsp Baking soda
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp All Spice, or 1 Tsp ground cloves & nutmeg
• Pinch o' ginger
• Pinch o' salt
• 4 Eggs, separated
• 1 Tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 Cup honey
• 1/4 Cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 Cup coconut or almond milk
• 1/2 Cup coconut oil or ghee
• 2 Tsp vanilla
• Coconut whipped cream (from Oh She Glows). I add 1-2 Tsp tapioca or arrowroot while whipping it to ensure it stays stable for the cake 

 You can also use store bought coconut whipped cream, (check that there isn't anything funky in the ingredients) or regular cow's milk whipped cream if you can tolerate dairy

• Peaces, fresh or canned (sugar free). About 1 can or 2-3 peaches, sliced 
• Shaved dark chocolate (2-3 tbsp), about 1/4 ounce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of 2- 6 inch round pans with parchment and grease slightly. You can also cut the recipe in half and only make one round pan and cut the cake in half to create a layer
2. Sift or mix the almond flour and arrowroot flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a large bowl, set aside
3. Take your egg whites and cream of tartar and beat with a hand or stand mixer (or a lot of arm power!) until stiff peaks form (meringue-ish), and set into the fridge to wait until you need it
4. In a medium sized sauce pan, warm your honey, coconut sugar, milk and oil (or ghee) and stir together until it's all melted and combined
5. Once this sweet mixture is ready, remove it from the heat and  add in the vanilla and egg yolks and whisk until very well combined
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix well
7. Now take your whipped egg white from the fridge and gently fold into the cake batter
8. Pour the batter into prepared pans, and bake for 20-30 minutes (check at 20 minutes, then every 5 minutes after up to 30 minutes total) until a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean
9. Once cooked, set on cooling rack for 15-20 minutes until it's set and almost cooled
10. To assemble, put some whipped cream onto one cake, add some sliced peaces and a little more cream, and top with the second cake
11. Cover cake completely with whipped cream, and top with peaces, and shaved chocolate

    If you've ever had a regular dutch honey cake, you'll know that it is heavy & dense, but still soft all at once, and this paleo version was too! You could distinctly taste the honey and spice, and the peaches and cream really brought a cool sweetness to the whole dessert. If store at room temperature the cake stays nicer, but if your whipped cream isn't super stable you'll need to refrigerate it. It still tastes great, but the cake seems more dense once it's bee in the fridge. Best plan? Just make it to share and have it eaten sooner than later! : ) 

   And that, my friends, is all I've got for you today! 

    We'll be out tomorrow night dressed up and collecting tummy aches (candy!!!) for Halloween, and our sweet middle child has her 7th birthday party on Sunday which will be fun (as long as it's not raining and the kids can play outside!!!) : )  Fingers crossed!

    Please leave a comment if you want to say "hi" or anything! Don't be afraid, I love comments! 

​xoxo