Peaches make my mouth water. You’ll see a few of them feature in this book. Their fragrance is all consuming and that’s why they are a perfect match with vanilla and ricotta.

INGREDIENTS

Vanilla Cake:

• 185g self-raising flour
• 170g caster sugar
• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 80ml full cream milk
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Roasted Peaches: 

• 5 peaches, halved
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped onto fruit
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon honey

Icing: 

• 250ml pouring cream
• 250ml ricotta, at room temperature
• 50g icing sugar, sifted

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm springform cake tin with softened butter and line the base with baking paper.
2. Place all cake ingredients in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on a low speed until combined (about 30 seconds). Increase the speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes until thick and pale. Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin.
3. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Arrange the peaches, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and honey on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
5. Once the cake and peaches have cooled, prepare your icing. Mix the ricotta, cream and icing sugar until thickened and smooth.
6. Spread your icing over the top of the cake. Arrange the roasted peaches over the icing, drizzling any additional syrup over the top.

This is an exclusive extract from BAKEREE by Charlotte Ree, photography by Luisa Brimble. Available now via www.charlotteree.com