Personal Peach Upside-Down Cakes

I'm not a big fan of peaches on their own - too fuzzy - but peaches incorporated into other things - skinless - are awesome. So while watching the Peachy Keen episode of Good Eats the other day, I was excited by Alton's recipe for individual peach upside-down cakes. Portion-controlled cakes, topped with (skinless) peaches, hot out of the oven and topped with ice cream? Upside-down cake without overly-sweet pineapple? I'm there!

The recipe below is with my edits; the original is in the link above. The recipe makes 4, but I was making 6, and math is not a strong suit... so I've left my recipe for 4. Although the picture above is just the cake, we served these with ice cream... which melted almost right away, making another picture impossible. But it was delicious, so ice cream is definitely the way to go.

Personal Peach Upside-Down Cakes
2 medium peaches
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 2/3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Blanch the peaches in boiling water for about a minute, then cool. Peel off the skin, then cut in half and remove the pit. Cut each half into thin slices, about 16 slices per peach.

Divide 2 Tablespoons of butter between 4 (6 ounce) ramekins (1/2 Tablespoon in each). Melt the last tablespoon of butter and set aside. Divide the brown sugar between the ramekins (2 teaspoons in each). Arrange peach slices on top of the brown sugar. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the liquids to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Spoon mixture onto peaches, dividing evenly among the ramekins. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Wait a few minutes before serving. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the ramekins to loosen the cakes. To serve, place a small plate over a ramekin, and then turn over to release the cake. The butter and brown sugar will have formed a sauce. Top with ice cream and serve quickly.