Brown Sugar Layer Cake with Peach Buttercream
When a Southern baker needs to wow a crowd with a dessert, she usually chooses a frosted layer cake to show off her skills. This layer cake recipe highlights the sweet goodness of fresh summer peaches, a favorite fruit to use in fruit cobblers, ice cream, and pound cakes. You will love the lightly cinnamon-spiced cake layers and the deep flavor that comes from the brown sugar. You can make the cake layers ahead and, once completely cooled, wrap them securely in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil, and freeze until you are ready to assemble the cake. The real star of this dessert is the frosting, which is made with peach puree and rich browned butter. Be sure and use a good quality real butter for this frosting, not a butter substitute. Cook the butter in a light-colored pan so you can watch it change shades as the water evaporates and golden-brown flecks (toasted milk solids) appear.