peach cream layer cake

Our school secretary made this for us to celebrate my getting engaged (this was awhile ago) and aside from it being made in my honor, this is one of those desserts you have once and always remember. A year later, I finally asked her for the recipe. After many attempts, her recipe has never quite turned out for me, so I've tweaked it a little to resemble hers more closely and I think the finished product is just as good!

If you're making and serving immediately, you won't need to add gelatin to your whipped cream (so you can skip all the gelatin steps). If you're making this and want the frosting on your cake to hold for a few hours (or just want to make sure any leftovers have fluffy, non-melted whipped cream), you'll need to add the gelatin. Basically, decide if you want your whipped cream to be stabilized or not.

peach cream layer short cake

For Cake Batter: 

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 large eggs

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup water, lukewarm

2 tsp vanilla

For Sweetened Whipped Cream: 

2 cups chilled  heavy cream

2 tsp unflavored gelatin (optional)

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 drops vanilla extract

Fruit: 

canned/frozen peaches, drained/thawed OR sliced fresh strawberries. (I usually chop my fruit for the filling in between the layers)

To Make Layer Cakes:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease two 9" round spring form pans and line bottom of pans with greased parchment or wax paper. 

Blend flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

Beat eggs in small mixer bowl until very thick and lemon-colored. 

Pour beaten eggs into large bowl and gradually beat in sugar. 

Blend in water and vanilla, on low speed.

Slowly mix in dry ingredients (low speed) until batter is smooth. 

Pour into pans and bake 12-15 mins. 

Loosen edges and immediately turn upside down on towel sprinkled with confectioners sugar. 

Remove paper. Trim off stiff edges. 

Cool completely, then fruit and shipped cream between layers and frost with remaining whipped cream. 

To Make Whipped Cream Frosting: 

Chill deep bowl and beaters in refrigerator for at least 30 mins. 

Sprinkle 2 tbsp gelatin  into 3/4 cup cold water and let sit for 5 mins. 

Microwave gelatin for 3 mins, stirring after each minute. Remove and let stand at room temp for 10 mins (cooled)

Whip 2 cups cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. 

Add in 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and gelatin. Beat until stiff peaks form.