It’s September…. shorter days, cooler nights, the return to regular work and school schedules….what we all could really use right now is something delicious to ease us into this new season.

September 1st is also Felicia’s birthday. Although this reminds our family of how much we miss her, what better way to honor her memory than do something that would make her smile - bake a cake!

It makes me happy to continue adding to this blog so, like Felicia used to do, I have started perusing the NY Times midweek Food Section for ideas. I came across this interesting recipe from Samantha Seneviratne that stopped my page-turning and started my brain to scheming. This is a great time of year for finding the most wonderful, juicy peaches and this simple recipe shows how to turn them into a festive dessert. As I discovered, this recipe is melt-in-your-mouth good!

I started to feel good about my choice as soon as I started to assemble the ingredients. Felicia used to have a certain technique when she started baking, particularly prepping a batter. She would always use a metal cup measure to scoop out flour and then would hit it 3 times with a spoon … Ting-Ting-Ting … to add it to the mixing bowl. No matter where I was in the house I could always hear those “Tings” and know that something delicious would soon be coming out of the oven.

Now it’s me making those sounds and I like to think it would make Felicia smile. One day I hope my granddaughter will make these sounds with me when we get a chance to cook something together. (She is visiting this week so I’m feeling a little misty that Felicia is missing out on these wonderful moments.)

OK. Back to cake-baking. Most of the ingredients of this recipe will be in your pantry and come together easily. A standing mixer helps make the batter smooth and creamy but a hand mixer will also work. The key will be if your peaches are tasty and juicy when you slice them. NOTE: I used low-fat yogurt to make the batter a little lighter.

After you pour and spread the batter mixed with half of the sliced peaches into the baking dish, the creative fun begins. Layer the remaining half of the peach slices over the top of the batter, ANY WAY YOU WANT. If you’ve got good peaches, the goodness will come through no matter which design of slices that you choose.

I got a boost of confidence when our middle son and his girlfriend visited this week, just in time to sample this new treat, and gave it a rave. It’s also his birthday today so this is especially nice timing for a new post.

Now get out there and pick some delicious, juicy peaches while they last. In a flash it will be apple-picking time so keep your eye out for a new fall recipe. Enjoy.

Butter Cake With Peaches

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Total: About 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (2 + sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes, plus more to grease the pan

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to coat the pan

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup plain yogurt (not Greek), whole-milk or light, room temperature

4 medium-ripe peaches, pitted, and cut into 1/4 inch wedges

The Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or Pyrex baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer (standing or hand-held), on Medium, until all the dry ingredients are coated in butter and the mixture looks like coarse sand, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the eggs and beat until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the yogurt and beat on High until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add half the peaches and gently fold them into the batter.

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan/dish and spread it out evenly and into every corner. Top with the remaining peach slices, covering the batter in a design of your choice, and sprinkle the top lightly and evenly with sugar.

5. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Transfer the pan/dish to a rack to cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for longer-lasting enjoyment.

NOTE: Adapted from a recipe by Samantha Senevirante that appeared in the NY Times Food Section.