After a moment, it would blossom into a full flavor. It might be sweet, sour, salty, or bitter. “When I sat with clients and opened my mind to them, a taste usually came through. Gregarious white chocolate, because it's boring alone, but good with almost any other ingredient. Strong, dark, and handsome chocolate truffle- that masculine 'shoulder to lean on' fix that women loved. 'That was some cupcake, Cupcake.' And I knew I had gotten him right. He grabbed a napkin to wipe the crumbs from his lips. He downed the cupcake in two bites- all moist devil's food with a dark truffle center, spread with a white-chocolate-and-coffee frosting I made with confectioner's sugar, the easy kind of buttercream. 'What's in here?' He snapped the red-and-white -striped string on the white bakery box and opened the lid.Ī little greedy, too, I thought. Usually, I prefer to be number one, but I guess I can make an exception this time.' He grinned. “You just happen to be our ten thousandth customer,' I lied, 'and this is our special thank-you.' I slid the bakery box across the counter to him. I didn't know whose life would be blighted, but these golden days were few. In my mind's eye, I could see a darkened area close to the center that would soon cause the peach to wither. It was juicy and sweet, but as I got close to the center of the peach, their was an off flavor of rot. 'Taste our browned butter yellow cake with a little apricot and some vanilla-almond buttercream, and see what you think.'Īs they each took a small bite of what I hoped would be their signature cake flavors, I was drawn back into the taste of the peach. 'You're getting married in August, when peaches are in season,' I said. The problem was that I didn't have any peach mousse or filling.

But they were worth it- fragrant, luscious, juice-dripping-down-your-chin perfection. Suncrest peaches had to be eaten right away.

Unlike other peaches that were picked unripe so they would ship more easily. This heirloom variety needed time to ripen on the tree to achieve its peak flavor. “The flavor that came to me was a luscious Suncrest peach that I once had in California.

The Cake Therapist by Judith M. Fertig