Individual Peach Upside-Down Cakes with Strawberry Sauce

Peaches are ripe and abundant up here! And I love them, but I particularly love them in their cooked application. I ran across this recipe in one of my Good Eats volumes, and now I'm wondering where it's been all my life??? Fabulously yummy! I also made a strawberry sauce to go over the top of my upside-down cake - this is a take on a raspberry sauce that AB uses in his peach melba recipe. Downright delicious folks - give this one a try!

**Note: I used 2 - 10 oz. ramekins for my cakes rather than 4 - 6 oz. ramekins as AB says. I added 10 minutes to the cooking time. Perfection. **

Also, I did NOT use the crystallized ginger.

Individual Peach Upside-Down Cakes
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 medium peaches, peeled
1-ounce finely chopped crystallized ginger, approximately 3 tablespoons
2.5 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Divide 2 tablespoons of the butter between 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the ramekins; sprinkling it into the bottoms of the dishes. Cut each peach into 12 to 14 pieces. Lay the peaches on top of the sugar; evenly dividing them between the dishes and sprinkle with the ginger. Set aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combine. Pour the batter over the peaches; dividing the mixture evenly between the dishes.

4. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

5. Remove from the oven to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

6. Run a knife around the edge of each dish and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Repeat with each cake. Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pint strawberries
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until it forms a liquid.

2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Put in a squeeze bottle and refrigerate until ready to use.