Fresh Peach Cake

I had been wanting to make this cake for a long time, but I waited for almost a year because peaches are usually no good out of season. I have to say it was worth the wait. The taste isn't complicated or sophisticated by any means and I certainly wouldn't present it to a dessert master. It's peaches and cream with sponge cake, but it's so good that I had a big slice for breakfast. This is from Country Desserts by Lee Bailey.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick margarine, softened
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
11/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanila extract
9 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

Cream filling
2 cups heavy filling
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Peach filling
5 to 6 large peaches (I used 7 medium ones)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Make cream filling first. Mix cream, sugar, and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 3 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with wax paper. Grease the paper and lightly flour.
3. Sift the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
4. Cream the margarine, butter, and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the dry mixture in 4 parts, alternating with the milk and ending with the flour. Mix in the vanilla.
5. Place the beaten egg whites on top of the mixture and fold in with the over-and-under motion. Do not beat, but be sure it is well mixed. Pour batter into cake pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks. Let cool completely.
6. To assemble cakes, peel and chop peaches into small slices. Toss peach slices with the lemon juice and sugar. Whip the chilled cream-sugar filling until it is stiff. The peaches will have given up a bit of juice by then, so pour some of it over the bottom cake layer, a little at a time, to give it a chance to soak in. Put a third of the peach slices on this bottom layer and cover with some whipped cream. Repeated with the remaining layers, holding them with toothpicks if necessary. Keep cake refrigerated, very loosely covered with foil or wax paper, until ready to serve.