I have seen this survey a few places on the blogosphere lately, most recently from my friend Kayle, and I thought it would be fun to participate. So without further ado, here are the ABC’s of me.
A: Attached or Single?
I’m sure all of you know by now that I am single, no boyfriend, no dates, never even been kissed. But, I hold out hope of finding at least a guy to go on a date with.
B: Best Friend?
You probably also know Mom is my best friend. We bake together, shop together, eat together. I have pretty much no secrets from Mom and can’t imagine my life without her. She is the best mother and friend I could ask for.
C: Cake or Pie?
Oh, man, this is hard. Since my blog is called Pies and Plots, I guess I’ll go with pie. I do love a good pie with that flaky crust and tons of fruit filling. But don’t get me wrong, I won’t turn down a good piece of layer cake either.
D: Day of Choice?
This varies since my schedule varies, but I do tend to look forward to Saturday. I typically take it off, except for a little blog work, and do something fun with Mom and Dad.
E: Essential Item?
My big screen TV and TiVo, as I cannot live without TV and can’t stand watching commercials. I also need nail polish in my life – it makes me so happy!
F: Favorite Color?
This changes too, but I tend to like purple a lot.
G: Gummy Bears or Worms?
I love both, but worms are my favorite. My fourth grade teacher used to hand them out when we caught a grammatical error in the newspaper or a magazine, so I think they remind me of that. I recently bought a six pound bag of gummy worms and bears at Costco and have been working my way through it. I crave them all the time.
H: Hometown?
I have lived in the suburbs of Detroit my whole life. We’ve moved a couple of times, but haven’t strayed too far. But as you probably know, I really, really want to move to California. The summers in Michigan are beautiful, and there are a lot of things I love and will miss about this area, but the winters are just too depressing and difficult for me to deal with.
I: Favorite Indulgence?
A huge slice of fruit pie or coconut cake with extra frosting. Or pumpkin whoopie pies . . . with extra frosting. Maybe my favorite indulgence is just frosting! Oh and perfectly crispy and hot french fries.
J: January or July?
While my birthday is in January, I hate winter, so July all the way.
K: Kids?
I do not want to have any kids. I have never wanted them and know they aren’t a good fit for my life.
L: Life isn’t complete without?
My parents. (And TV and nail polish 🙂)
M: Marriage date?
I’m really just hoping for a first date at this point 😉
N: Number of siblings?
I am an only child, and while sometimes I think it might be nice to have a sibling, I really wouldn’t have it any other way than it just being Mom, Dad, and me.
O: Oranges or Apples?
I really love both, but fresh apples in season are sooooo yummy! I love eating and baking with them. Honeycrisp are my favorite hands down.
P: Phobias?
I am terrified of germs and getting sick. It sometimes prevents me from doing things and causes me a lot of worry, but I’ve learned to live with it pretty well. Just don’t try to shake my hand 😉
Q: Quotes?
I love inspirational quotes, but I can’t think of any that I really use all the time. I do often think of the story from the episode of The West Wing “Noel.” It has offered me comfort many times before, and I even performed it in a speech class in high school and received a perfect score. You can check out the clip below.
R: Reasons to Smile?
My wonderful parents, sunshine, fancy clothes and stiletto heels, hummingbirds and butterflies . . . lots of reasons to smile, sometimes we all just need to take a moment to notice and appreciate them . . . and smile 🙂
S: Season of Choice?
Summer for sure. It is the time of year when I am happiest and life is best!
T: Tag Five People
I’m tagging you all, my readers! Answer one, a few, or all of the questions.
U: Unknown Fact about Me?
This is a tough one. Depending on how often you read the blog you may or may not know that I don’t know how to drive or that I’m just about finished with my fifth novel and I’ve written one screenplay. Anyone know any agents or have some Hollywood connections?
V: Vegetable?
I really love vegetables, but my favorite by far is Brussels sprouts. I can’t get enough of them. At home, I steam, roast, sauté, or shred them raw for slaw, and in restaurants, I love them paired with bacon or fried. YUM!
W: Worst Habit?
I can be really impatient. Whether I’m in the kitchen or out and about, sometimes I just want things done immediately and life doesn’t always work that way.
X: X-ray or Ultrasound?
Neither. They both mean a trip to the doctor and that something is or could be wrong. No fun!
Y: Your Favorite Food?
Wild Alaskan King Salmon with crispy skin. I crave it all the time. Along with coconut cake, peach blackberry pie, and gummy worms.
Z: Zodiac Sign?
Aquarius.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better! Now onto the recipe. Last summer I posted Blueberry Boy Bait and really enjoyed it. I figure a lot of you may have missed it, and I was craving it again, so I remixed the recipe by swapping the blueberries for peaches. It did not disappoint and may be even better than the original. The moist, buttery cake with pieces of juicy peach is topped with pretty sliced peaches and tons of cinnamon sugar that gives wonderful flavor and a bit of crunch. Don’t let summer pass by without making this yummy peach coffee cake!
And don’t forget it’s the last day to enter the Momofuku giveaway!
Peach Boy Bait + The ABCs of Me
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 pieces 1x
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
- 1 large peach, peeled and diced
Topping
- 1 large peach, peeled and sliced thinly
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. I did this by hand, but a hand or stand mixer would work. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour. I did 3 installments of flour and 2 of milk. Mix only until just combined.
- Gently stir the diced peaches into the batter. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
- Place the peach slices over the batter in a pretty pattern. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the cake, making sure to cover all of it.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs, rotating halfway through if necessary. Cool at least 20 minutes in pan, before cutting into servings and eating. May be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 4 months. Thaw wrapped in parchment in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Fun survey! 🙂 Maybe I should do one of these too! Oh, and also made this peach boy bait too – it looks delish!
Enjoyed reading the ABC’s about you! I love brussels sprouts too. And this peach boy bait cake looks so delicious!
Aquarius and January birthday twins!!! Woohoo 🙂 I *do* know how to drive but avoid it like the plague. I get so nervous while behind the wheel that I get lightheaded and think that I’m going to faint. Not fun!!
I imagine that’s how I’d be driving too. When I tried to learn, the car was idling and I felt like it was going too fast!
Yay! So glad you did the ABC’s, so fun to learn more 🙂
This peach boy bait looks amazing, I am craving it! Fun to read your ABCs – I love your genuine answers!
Great to learn more about you Laura! And this looks yummy!
I’ve been wanting to try out this ABC’s of me thing! So fun learning more about you!
This peach cake looks amazing. And I’m new to your blog, so I learnt a lot from your ABC 🙂
Thanks, Rachel, and thanks for visiting 🙂
Fun learning more about you! And fun reading this recipe – it looks totally yummy, and we’re getting great peaches at the moment, so it’s so timely. Thanks.
What a great post! I might have to do it! 😀 Lovely recipe too!
You are so cute and I love this post! How wonderful that your mom is your best friend. My daughter and I are like that. She asked me to be her maid of honor in her wedding, what an honor that was!
Love this cake, it looks amazing!
That’s so cool you were maid of honor for your daughter. I imagine my mom will be mine too 🙂
Aww this was so fun! You and your mom are so adorable! I’ve seen blueberry boy bait around the blogosphere but honestly I’d get more excited about peach!
I think the peaches are a really nice addition. Thanks, Joanne!
Lovely to learn more about you! And a magnificent peach recipe too! A most enjoyable post!
Loved reading through your ABC’s and learning more about you! And especially love the picture of you with your mom! Going to try your Peach Boy Bait. I don’t need any more boys in my life, but I could use a few more delicious peaches 😉
Thanks, Christin!
So many fun facts about you. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 My husband’s family is from the Detroit area.
I love coffee cake and I love how you added peaches to it!
Great post, Laura. I even get to know more about you! The picture of you and your mom is a good one.
The cake looks great too but I still have a few pounds to loose….then I can make it.
I love learning more about the people behind the blog, so thanks for posting this! 🙂
Oh my days, that boy bait would bait anyone!
And don’t let anybody convince you that waiting is anything but the a respectable policy—it’ll all make sense when (not “if”) you find the guy and realise every second of the wait and doubt was worth it! Cheesy, but true 😉
Thanks for the advice, Irina! I do believe that many things in life will happen when they are supposed too – sometimes it’s just hard waiting 😉
This looks incredible! I love the sugary topping, the soft filling, the pan-baked action (so much faster/easier than an actual pie with crust, etc.) And peaches, so good.
I loved reading your ABCs, too. It’s so sweet that you and your mom are so close. I hope my daughter and I are the same 🙂
You’ll definitely catch some male attention with this coffeecake…it looks terrific! I loved learning more about you…you’re as sweet as can be!!!
Awww, thanks, Liz!
You and your mum are so adorable! Not just because of your close and special relationship but physically your both such gorgeous women! And beautiful cake btw, nothing screams summer like freshly baked peach 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Brooke 🙂
I love doing these questionnaires! They’re such a fun way to find out more about people. I understand what you mean about winters being too depressing to deal with–I live in South Dakota where the winters seem like they’re 6 months long! UGH! I moved here 9 years ago, and I’m trying to move away…Very difficult, as my husband doesn’t mind the winters (he’s lived here for about 30 years and prior to that, his family lived in a suburb of a suburb of Detroit). That dessert looks delicious–And I don’t even like peaches, but anything with cinnamon and sugar can’t be bad!
You can also make this with blueberries as I did last summer. That’s the traditional recipe. Here’s my link if you want to take a look! Thanks, Rachel!
mmmmmmmmmmm, yummy, yummy, yummy…so deliciousness fluffy peach cake, got to love it 😀
I love peach cake too, Aurica! Thanks for visiting 🙂