My easy peach cake recipe is the ultimate throw together dessert that looks super fancy but is a super low lift. A tender butter cake is topped with either fresh or canned peaches (both work beautifully!) and then baked into the most amazing cake - I almost never have leftovers!

Hi hi! I am just popping in to share my peach cake recipe with you! This is yet another iteration of my super easy and super versatile butter cake, this time topped with peaches!

I make this cake all the time - it is the perfect throw together, and everyone always loves it. It keeps well for days once you make it too - it is one of those 'little sliver every time you walk past the rack' kind of cakes.

If you haven't made my butter cake before, I promise you you are going to love it. It is light and tender, has an amazing moisture thanks to the sour cream, and you can finish it so many ways.

I didn't do it for this cake, but if you wanted to, you could also add a streusel topping to the top of the cake before baking for an extra textural element! You will need to add a little extra time onto the bake time to account for the extra weight the streusel adds but it is SO good.

Fresh or canned peaches for Peach cake?

Honestly, either work here. If it is peach season, use fresh - you don't even need to peel them, just slice them into segments and arrange on the cake. I like to sprinkle the surface with a little sugar when I am using fresh peaches just to help draw out a little of the moisture so that they brown nicely and you get a lovely crunchy crust on your cake. If you've been here before you will know I am a stickler for baking using grams, but because the peaches are just going on top of the cake, you can use as few or as many as you want - how many you use will depend on the size of the peaches and also how thick you cut your segments. I usually use about 3 fresh peaches. This is a great use for those peaches which might be past their prime for eating too - they will bake up perfectly!

However, I make this all the time using good quality canned peaches. I like to pat them dry, then cut into segments (I usually use 4-5 peach halves but this will depend on how big they are). I don't add extra sugar on top of the cake when I use canned peaches as they are already in a syrup.

Choose your format - round or square!

Want to know a sneaky little trick? If a recipe is made in a square pan, you can add one inch to the size of the square pan, and that gives you the round pan equivalent! I make my butter cake in a 9" square pan, but made this peach cake in a 10" round pan. I switch between the two depending on what I am feeling - I always feel like for some reason a square cake is good for like a morning or afternoon tea, and for dessert I like a round one! Maybe that's just me.

All this to say, make this in either a 9" square or a 10" circle pan - the bake time is the same!

How to easily remove a cake you can't flop onto a rack

Because this peach cake has a 'right way up' and isn't getting a frosting like a layer cake, I like to do an extra step for insurance to make sure that it is easy to remove from the pan. I do two strips of parchment paper under the round piece of parchment, and then clip them to the side of the pan, which means that when it is time to remove the cake, I just use the parchment as handles to remove from the pan. If you have to flip it onto a plate or a rack that is totally fine too, but I prefer this method for a just in case step!

Testing for doneness on a peach cake

Because we are adding fruit onto the top of this peach cake, it weighs down the batter a little, so it takes a bit longer to bake than the version without fruit. To test for doneness I like to just poke a skewer or a paring knife into the cake, and if it comes out with a few moist crumbs on the top, it is done. Make sure that you poke a piece of cake that doesn't have the fruit on the top and aim for somewhere in the middle as that part bakes the slowest.

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Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Perfect Peach Cake

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Author: Erin Clarkson
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Cake
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Description

Ingredients

Scale

150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
320g granulated sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 large eggs (about 110g, not including the shell), at room temperature
165g sour cream, at room temperature
250g all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter
About 3 fresh peaches, cut into segments (I cut each peach into quarters then cut each quarter into 3 so I get 12 slices per peach), or 4-5 good quality canned peach halves in syrup, patted dry and cut into segments
Extra granulated sugar for sprinkling (optional), I only do this for fresh peaches.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease the bottom and sides and line a 10" (25cm) round cake pan with a parchment paper circle. I like to add two strips of parchment paper underneath the round to form a little 'sling' to easily remove the cake later, and clip them down extending the parchment paper over the edges of the pan so that you can use them as a sling later to remove the cake. I like to clip down the edges with little binder clips. This can also be made in a 9" square pan - if I am using this I like to extend the paper over the edges and clip it down to make the cake easy to remove.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium to high speed until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing to combine between each, then beat the mix for a further 2-3 minutes on high speed until it has thickened up, and is very light.
Measure out the sour cream into a small bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream, starting and ending with the flour - add the flour in three additions and the sour cream in two, and briefly mix between additions. Switch to a spatula and give the mixture a few turns to ensure that it is evenly mixed.
Transfer the mix to the prepared pan and smooth down with a spatula or the back of a spoon, making sure that there are no large air bubbles in the mixture.
Top with the sliced peaches, arranging in a pattern that you like. Sprinkle with granulated sugar if using.
Bake the peach cake for about 55 minutes, checking after 50, until a skewer inserted into the cake (not a peach) in the middle comes out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan, then remove from the pan using the slings you made and transfer to a serving platter. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar, cream, ice cream, or greek yoghurt.
Store leftovers lightly covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

Finishing options
I love to finish this peach cake off with a passionfruit ice cream topping we can get here in the supermarket (the brand is delmaine), but it is also delicious if you wanted to gently warm some jam and then brush over the cake when it is hot from the oven. Leave it to cool and then you have a perfect glazed cake! Leaving it plain also works, or you can add a little dusting of icing sugar.