Apple Peach Upside Down Cake

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Santa Cruz Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.

 
Apple Peach Upside Down Cake – a simple cake recipe made with applesauce, diced peaches, and cherries.

Before we dive into this recipe, I want to talk to you a little bit about organic and sustainable living. How crunchy are you these days, and do you feel good about the level you are at? Do you wish you could do more or are you feeling a little burnt out as it is?

Me? I’d have to admit that over the past few years of settling into motherhood I have let more things slide than I would like. Sometimes I reminisce to the simpler days before we were parents when my produce was raised on local organic farms and I spent every morning tending to my garden and spinning my compost tumbler. I would never trade motherhood in for the life I had before. At the same time I’d really love to get back to that place again – a place far far away from frozen burritos and paper plates. 

If you are feeling like I am, and are in need of a little natural living boost, I give you these three simple tips to help make better choices on a daily basis. (Both for you, and for our dear little planet.)

• Mind your Motivation: When you pick up a product at the store, take a moment to think about how it will benefit you and the environment and how it will harm you and the environment. Ask yourself, is it healthy? Is it sustainable? Is it worth it? Sometimes the convenience of a shortcut or the economy of a less-than-ideal product IS worth it, but checking in with yourself is a good way to stop from buying things you’d really rather not simply out of habit.
• Prioritize: Many of us (myself included) just can’t afford to buy EVERYTHING organic. For those of us on tight budgets, it can be helpful to focus our organic buying power on the products that affect our health or the environment most. Resources like The Dirty Dozen List, Seafood Watch, and EWG’s Skin Deep Database can help consumers recognize the products and ingredients that are worth prioritizing on our organic shopping lists.
• Make it Do or Do Without: The simplest way to lead a greener lifestyle is to simply consume less. This means being conscious of wasting resources like food, water, and fuel. It means re-using and recycling whenever possible, and taking extra time to make use of what you already have rather than buying something new. This way of thinking can drastically reduce your environmental impact over a lifetime of thoughtful decision making.

Now on to the food!

Have you ever had applesauce cake? It’s pretty amazing stuff. It’s sweet, moist, and fragrant with the warm aromas of ginger and cinnamon. The last time I enjoyed applesauce cake I wondered if there was anything that could be done to improve upon it. I mean, where do you go from amazingly delicious? How can you beat a classic?

Put fruit on top, of course! Or in this case, beneath. Till you turn it over, then it’s on top again. That’s how this whole upside-down business works, after all. My version of applesauce cake showcases one of my other favorite fruits – peach! I go pretty much gaga over peaches every summer to hang on tight. I’ll be making a trip out to the orchards soon enough and then it will be Peach City over here.

Oh yeah, and cherries. I added cherries too – mostly because that’s what people put on (or is it below?) upside-down cakes.

I think I’m going to need a nap after (or is it before?) writing this recipe.

Apple Peach Upside Down Cake
Makes 2 8-inch cakes or 24 mini cakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground/grated ginger
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Santa Cruz Organic® Apple Sauce
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 32 ounces sliced or diced peaches (in fruit juice)
• 16 ounces frozen cherries, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two12-cup muffin pans or two 8-inch cake pans.
2. Drain peaches and cherries and set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and whisk together.
4. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add applesauce, coconut oil, ginger, and vanilla, then mix until smooth.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
6. Place one cherries and diced peaches in the bottom of pans or muffin cups. Divide batter between pans or muffin cups.
7. Bake mini cakes for about 30 minutes, 8-inch cakes for about 45 minutes, or until cakes are firm. Insert a toothpick or cake tester into the center of one cake to check for doneness. If the tester comes out clean, the cake is done.
8. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for at least twenty minutes before carefully turning them out onto a serving dish. Let the cakes cool on the dish for another ten minutes or so before eating.

I was invited to try out Santa Cruz Organic® Apple Sauce for this recipe. As a rule, I pretty much always prefer to use organic products, particularly when it comes to fruit. It’s great when I can find brands that offer tasty staples made with organic ingredients. Santa Cruz Organic® does this so well, offering a huge selection of fruit sauces, juices, spreads, and other ready to eat products for everyday eating.

Their fruit sauces, including five different varieties of apple sauce, contain no added sugar, and are made with 100% organic ingredients. These all-natural pureed fruit sauces make wonderful on-the-go snacks for the whole family. Try using Santa Cruz Organic® fruit sauces in smoothies. Just add one cup of Santa Cruz Organic® apple sauce to your favorite smoothie recipe for an organic boost of fruity flavor.

As a pioneer organic brand, Santa Cruz Organic® was the first to have a wide range of organic, 100 percent juices and blends and the first juice processor to use all organic fruit sourced from growers certified by an independent, third-party certification organization.  With a history of developing innovative products, Santa Cruz Organic currently offers more than 60 organic items ranging from organic fruit juices and lemonades to organic fruit sauces, chocolate syrups, peanut butters and fruit spreads. Visit www.santacruzorganic.com for more information

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Santa Cruz Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.