What would the Chilton County Peach Festival be without peaches? There are plenty of things to do during the festival that don’t have anything to do with peaches, but you have to admit that our famous fruit is pretty much the heart and soul of the festival.

I wanted to use my column to remind our readers that the Peach Festival Cook-Off is coming up Saturday at Thorsby First Baptist’s fellowship hall at 10 a.m.

There are two divisions, adult (ages 20 and above) and youth (9-19). The deadline for entries has been extended to Wednesday, June 16. To register, call the local Alabama Cooperative Extension office at 280-6268.

I also want to share with you last year’s first place recipes, Wesley Friday’s creamy peach cake and Baylee Abrams’ peach tiramisu. Enjoy.

Baylee Abrams’ Peach Tiramisu (first place, youth division)

1 box angel food cake mix

12 peaches, diced

1 jar peach preserves

2 cups full almond liqueur

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/3 tablespoon freshly ground nutmeg

7 egg yolks

1 cup sugar for yolks

1/4 cup sugar for heavy cream

3 cups or 1 750-gram container of mascarpone cream

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1 large tub whip cream

Readymade caramel topping

Mix the angel food cake together as directed on the box then pour a thin layer of mix on a 9×11 sheet pan and let cook in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden on top of cake. When done take out of oven and let cool. While cooling heat up peach preserves and almond liqueur then spread over cake.

Combine diced peaches, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, lemon zest, butter and ginger into sauce pan and let simmer for about one hour on medium-low heat. Let cool completely and pour over angel food cake.

In a double boiler cook egg yolks for about 10 minutes stirring constantly; remove from heat and add 1 cup sugar. In a mixer with the whipped attachment, add mascarpone cheese and egg yolks whip until well incorporated. Then in a separate bowl whip heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar fold into the cheese and yolk mixture and spread over the peaches. Spread the whip cream over finished dish and drizzle readymade caramel on top.

Wesley Friday’s Creamy Peach Cake (first place, adult division)

1 white cake mix

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup oil

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup peaches, pureed

1/4 cup sugar

Combine cake mix, flour and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add water, oil, cream cheese, vanilla flavoring and eggs. Beat two minutes on medium speed. Puree peaches in 1/4 cup sugar. Fold peaches into mixture. Pour into three 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling

2 cups thinly sliced peaches

1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients and cook until tender. Cool.

Icing

1 8-oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 pound confectioner’s sugar

Combine cream cheese and butter. Add flavoring, gradually add confectioner’s sugar. After cake is cooled, add filling between layers. Ice cake. Garnish with sliced peaches.