This is my very last post of my fresh peaches series. Well......maybe my second to last. I just came up with one more idea, and I still have some peaches sitting on the counter, so I'll likely sneak the recipe in as a bonus-peach-post over the next few days.
And THEN, that's it! I'm finished-fini!-finito!-with the peaches. At least for a little while, that is. What will the folks at Trader Joe's do without me buying two flats every week? Luckily (for them, not for you and me), the much-too-short peach season will be over soon, so I imagine they will be able to hang on without my purchases until then.
I hate to waste a blog post discussing the weather, but the weather has been such a hot (and I mean that literally) topic cross-country lately, that I think I will make a brief exception. Even in Las Vegas, where heat is both a given and something that we locals are used to, the past few days have become unbearable due to multiple massive thunderstorms and resulting humidity, something that we locals are not used to.
On a positive note, lightning in the desert is one of the coolest displays that I've ever seen. When Eric and I drove home from dinner on Friday night, our conversation consisted of a bunch of "Whoa!" and "Did you see that??" exchanges while the multi-pronged bolts lit up the sky. As my friend Shanna, who blogs at Pineapple and Coconut, put it, "Even the weather in Vegas is quite the show!"
Most Las Vegans know that when it rains, it's a smart move to just stay home--the driving here becomes atrocious. I mean seriously atrocious. The humidity in conjunction with our standard heat? Also a reason to stay home, air-conditioner on full blast, ideally moving as little as possible.
Let's see: Day spent at home + bowl full of ripe peaches + dreams about something cool and refreshing = peach recipe inspired by a tropical cocktail.
Enter my latest creation, the Peach-a Colada Cupcake. C'mon, you knew that I had to throw a cupcake into the mix at some point, didn't you? It's a good thing that I had so many extra peaches (and extra time at home!), because I actually had to tweak the cupcake portion of this recipe a few times before it was just right for all of you. The first batch was just a little bit meh, and the second batch was better but the third one definitely qualified for peach-a colada perfection.
The buttercream for this recipe has a coconut-rum flavor, and while it requires a bit more work than your common confectioner's sugar-based buttercream, the resulting taste and texture are definitely worth the effort. This version is based on the traditional Swiss meringue buttercream method, meaning that sugar and egg whites are first whisked together and heated, then beaten into a meringue (see above). The butter and flavorings are then gradually added, resulting in a smooth, silky and rich buttercream. I promise that you will love it--so much so that it will be hard to resist sampling straight from the bowl. That's OK. Go ahead. Rumor has it that those calories don't count anyway. They are classified as "research."
Until my next post, stay cool, stay inside, and bake some cupcakes!
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:13]
Shanna@ pineapple and coconut
These are right up my alley!! anything "Colada" I am all for!!! You're so right about the driving here. Its bad enough when its not raining, but when it does rain? I stay inside too. Not risking driving anywhere here ha ha
Julie @ Peanut Butter and Julie
Thanks, Shanna! I figured that these would be your kind of dessert!! Let's hope this muggy weather finishes soon--I am over it!
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers
Your cupcakes sound amazing! What a nice spin on the colada! I am loving peach season!
Crazy weather everywhere. I was in Vegas in June and at 2am it was 99 degrees, crazy hot, now I'll be going back in August and I can only imagine it being even hotter. I just can't get over the humidity your having. Here in N. California, I live in the dessert suburb and we have had humidity too and a few rain showers which is unheard of.
Julie @ Peanut Butter and Julie
Thank you, Jennifer! I'm loving it too (clearly!) I know--the summers here can be brutal, especially if you are not used to it. Yes, be prepared for even more heat in August, unless you happen to get lucky. I hope that you do. I will thankfully be in Wyoming for much of August, escaping the heat!