Peach Dream Cake

If you work in an office environment, you understand the importance of baked goods to building and maintaining camaraderie.  Every office seems to have that one person who brings cookies to the meetings, who bakes cakes for birthdays, and who occasionally surprises everyone with a coffee cake to turn a random Wednesday into a cause for celebration.

Years ago I worked in the office of a federal judge.  It was a small staff, and we all got along beautifully.  Much of the love and laughter that permeated our chambers centered around the break room which was regularly stocked with delicious treats by our admin, Becky.  She took every opportunity to bake for us.

On one memorable occasion we had a wedding in chambers (unusual for a federal judge).  The groom was a military man getting ready to deploy overseas, so there was both an urgency and a poignancy to the wedding.  In the 24 hours we had between scheduling and holding the wedding, Becky managed to pull together a cake decorated with flowers donated by a local florist.  It was a simple thing, but such a touching tribute to love and service.

Everything Becky made tasted incredible (she just had that gift), but one of my absolute favorite treats was her Peach Dream Cake.  The cake is tender and moist, and the coconut topping gives it a bit of crunch.  It's perfect for dessert but works equally well as a coffee cake.

When I left my position with the court system, I asked for the recipe, and she graciously shared it.  Enjoy, and share it with the ones you love (or the ones you work with!).

Becky's Peach Dream Cake

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

1 heaping c. sliced peaches (fresh or frozen/thawed)
10 oz. peach preserves (I used a peach/apricot blend this time)

2 c. coconut
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 pan.

Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar.  Add milk, eggs, and vanilla and beat until blended.  Sift dry ingredients together then fold into wet ingredients.  Spread half the batter in the bottom of the pan.  Top with peaches and preserves, then carefully spread remaining batter on top.  Bake for 40 minutes.

Cake batter dotting the peach filling.

Baked cake, before the topping is added.

Coconut and brown sugar "streusel"

Finished cake!

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients.  When cake comes out of oven, spread coconut mixture on top.  Return to oven and broil for 1 - 2 minutes (until golden).

Cool completely before slicing.