Peach Whiskey Upside Down Cake

It's the first day back from our honeymoon and nostalgia (not to mention jet lag) has kicked in with a vengeance. I spotted fresh peaches at the market while shopping to refill our empty fridge and decided to make an Ireland-inspired dessert. After a quick detour to the liquor aisle, I picked up the co-star of this dish: a bottle of Irish whiskey. Whiskey is featured three times in the recipe below: in the caramel sauce, in the cake batter, and in the whipped cream. If you decide to pair the cake with an Irish coffee, which I'll absolutely need to keep myself awake past 6pm, you can enjoy whiskey four ways. Let the good times roll!

For the caramel & peach cake top:
1 ¹/₄ cups packed brown sugar
¹/₂ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¹/₄ cup whiskey
4 fresh peaches, cut into slices

For the cake:
1 ¹/₂ cups all purpose flour
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons baking powder
¹/₂ teaspoon baking soda
¹/₂ teaspoon salt
¹/₄ cup finely ground pecans
³/₄ cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons Irish whiskey
¹/₂ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the whiskey whipped cream:
1 ¹/₂ cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons whiskey

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch baking round baking pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Slice peaches into wedges.
3. For the caramel, melt brown sugar, butter, and whiskey over medium-high heat. Do not stir. Cook until mixture is foamy. Remove from heat, and pour into pan. Arrange peach wedges on top of the sugar mixture and set the pan aside.
4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk in ground pecans. Set bowl aside.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and whiskey. Set bowl aside.
6. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, at medium-high speeed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in batches, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Once batter is fully mixed, pur over the peaches and spead evenly.
7. Bake for 50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let the cake sit for 15 minutes. Invert onto a cake stand and let it cool completely before serving.
9. Just prior to serving, whip together heavy cream and whiskey until soft peaks form.