When I was in my third year at Boston University, I worked part time at the now-defunct Pie Bakery in Newton. It was there that I learned that the city is wonderfully calm during pre-dawn hours, that some people are very mean before they get their first cup of coffee, and that ricotta and peaches go together like Chris Evans and my bed, heyooooooooo hahaha sorry I’ll show myself out it’s been a long (short?) week.
Peach season is winding down now that summer is coming to an end, and while I usually bake a massive peach pie to give everyone’s favorite stone fruit one last hurrah, this year I decided to do a light chiffon cake filled with creamy ricotta and sweet peaches instead. Gotta shake things up a bit, you know?
This cake is served with a “sauce” because I completely bungled the peach filling — I’ve included the recipe I used as-is, but I imagine that next time making it into more of a jam consistency (or even just peach chunks?) might work better.
Chiffon Cake with Peach and Ricotta Filling
Cake from Elizabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson’s Tartine, filling adapted from Food Network, peach filling
Yields: 1 three-layer, 9″ cake
Prep Time: 2 hours (not including cooling time)
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 3 hours
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 + 1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup neutral oil, like vegetable or safflower oil
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest (about the zest of 3 small lemons)
10 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice
For the ricotta filling:
3 cups ricotta cheese, whole milk (24 ounces)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup heavy cream
zest of 1 lemon
For the peach filling:
3 medium peaches, skinned and pitted
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
Assemble the cake:
Line the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with parchment. Do not grease the sides or bottom. Preheat the oven to 325F.
Sift together the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk in 1 1/4 cups of sugar and the salt.
In another bowl, beat together the egg yolks, oil, water, vanilla, and lemon zest. Stir this into the flour mixture and whisk quickly until it is smooth.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until it is frothy. Add in the cream of tartar or lemon juice and continue whipping at high speed until it holds soft peaks. Add in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and whip at medium-high speed until it is glossy and holds a relatively stiff peak. Be careful to not overbeat.
Add 1/3 of the egg whites into the flour mixture and gently fold it together to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until it is combined. Pour into the baking pan.
Bake for 45-55 minutes (mine took a full hour), or until the top is golden brown and the center is set. A toothpick should come out clean when poked into the middle.
Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack. When completely cool, run a thin knife along the edges to loosen the cake and carefully unmold it and remove the parchment.
Assemble the ricotta filling:
While the cake is cooling, whisk the ricotta until it is smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and lemon zest and whisk to combine.
In another bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it holds a relatively stiff peak. Gently fold this into the ricotta mixture, then cover and chill for about an hour.
Assemble the peach filling:
Put the peaches, sugar, and salt into a food processor and blitz until it is smooth.
Assemble the cake:
Slice the cake into three even layers. On the first layer, slather on some of the peach filling (don’t use too much or else it’ll just ooze out when you stack the next layer on). Top this with the ricotta filling, pushing it evenly out to the edges of the cake.
Stack with the next cake layer and repeat, stacking with the final cake layer. Top with the rest of the ricotta and save the rest of the peach filling to spoon out over cake slices.
