Food: Match made in heaven: peaches, blueberries

Was there ever a better fruit match-up than blueberries and peaches? There’s strawberries and cream I suppose, but when it comes to double dating, this particular fruit combo is always a clear winner with me.

Fresh fruit is one of the many joys of summer – baskets of cherries and berries beckon to me when I head to the farmers market – I succumb and buy them like there's no tomorrow. But because there are only the two of us, I have to make pretty quick use of them before they go south.

Of course my favorite way to enjoy fresh fruit is simply out hand: Snacking on cherries and tossing the pits into the yard or slurping a fresh peach over the sink to catch the juices. I hollow out a melon half and pile in the blueberries for the perfect breakfast or sprinkle raspberries atop some creamy yogurt. But when the ripening becomes too rapid, I haul out the baking pans and get to work.

This upside-down Bundt cake may not look like an elegant dessert once the hot fruit melts into gooey goodness, but add a scoop of ice cream or yogurt and watch it disappear. You can make this for breakfast, brunch or dessert.

Kate Lawson is a retired Detroit News food writer. You can reach her at katecook@comcast.net.

Peach Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

Recipe adapted from Food Network.

¹/₂ cup packed light brown sugar

5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced ¹/₂-inch thick

1 cup blueberries

1 cup granulated sugar

¹/₂ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ¹/₃ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¹/₂ teaspoons baking powder

¹/₄ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

²/₃ cup milk

1 ¹/₂ teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center of the oven. Grease the sides of a 9-by-3-inch round cake or Bundt pan.

Sprinkle the brown sugar in the pan and pour in the melted butter. Top with the peaches and blueberries and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar with the room temperature butter on medium speed until fluffy, then increase to high speed for 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the mixer, add the cream cheese,and then mix on medium speed.

In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Turn the mixer off and add the eggs, then mix on low speed to beat in the eggs. Add the flour mixture slowly, then add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Spread the batter over the fruit and transfer to the oven.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake and invert onto a plate. Let cool and serve. Serves 8.

Per serving: 499 calories; 26 g fat (15 g saturated fat; 47 percent calories from fat); 63 g carbohydrates; 45 g sugar; 114 mg cholesterol; 373 mg sodium; 6 g protein; 2 g fiber.