Fresh Peach Cake (Extra Peaches!)

This easy recipe for fresh peach cake is a wonderful way to showcase sweet peaches when they’re in season. Soft and tender with a creamy crumb, and featuring 2 layers of juicy peaches for extra peach flavor in every bite, this cake needs no topping or decorating (though a dusting of powdered sugar is always welcome). It’s the perfect treat to enjoy on a porch swing with a glass of iced tea—or wherever you find summertime bliss.

This simple yet impressive fresh peach cake is the perfect quick & easy dessert to make when peaches are in season, whether you picked them straight from a tree… or from a roadside farm stand… or from the grocery store when they were on sale. I love peach pie, but sometimes you need a simple recipe for a dessert that can be ready to eat in the next couple of hours. This peach cake is just the thing!

(Peach crisp and peach cobbler are both wonderful options as well, of course. Especially if you happen to have vanilla ice cream in your freezer.)

Everything You’ll Love About This Fresh Peach Cake

• Super moist, tender, soft cake with juicy cinnamon-spiced peaches
• Great way to showcase fresh peaches during peak peach season
• Quick & easy—no mixer required, no separate topping to make, and you don’t even have to peel the peaches!
• All the flavors you love in peach pie (with less time & effort)
• Not overly sweet, so the fruit’s natural sweetness shines
• Greek yogurt makes for a creamy-like crumb, just like it does in lemon berry yogurt cake
• You could use dairy-free yogurt to make this a dairy-free recipe
• Don’t have to wait hours for it to cool completely before eating
• Transport and serve right from the baking pan

And as a welcome bonus, there’s no complicated decorating required. Just give it a shimmy-shake of confectioners’ sugar over the top before serving—this peach cake is a natural beauty!

Key Ingredients You Need & Why

1. Flour: All-purpose flour forms the base for this cake’s structure.
2. Baking Powder & Baking Soda: With so many wet ingredients, we need both baking powder and soda to help lift this cake so it’s not heavy and flat.
3. Salt: For its flavor-enhancing superpowers.
4. Oil: Using oil instead of butter in cakes makes for a supremely moist crumb. You can use olive oil, vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil here—baker’s choice.
5. Sugar: Granulated sugar is the sweetener for this cake. You don’t need a lot, because the peaches are already sweet on their own.
6. Eggs: Eggs provide structure, stability, and richness.
7. Vanilla & Almond Extracts: You’ll love the flavor this combo provides. It’s the same duo used to flavor classic sugar cookies.
8. Greek Yogurt: You’ll notice that I use yogurt or sour cream in a lot of my cake recipes. Both bring a slight tang (very mild) and brilliantly creamy moisture. I tested this cake with nonfat and low-fat Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, and sour cream—all were excellent. Greek yogurt added a little more tang and structure, though. You could also use a dairy-free yogurt to make this cake dairy free.
9. Lemon Zest & Juice: Lemon brightens everything up, and adds some fresh flavor. Taste testers said the cake was lacking without it.
10. Peaches: You need about 2 cups of sliced fresh peaches (peeling them first is optional). See the FAQs below for more information on the best type of peaches to use.
11. Cinnamon: Totally optional.

Overview: How to Make Fresh Peach Cake

The cake is layered with peaches. Half batter, half peaches, remaining batter, remaining peaches.

There’s no mixer required for this recipe. Whisk the batter together, and then toss the peach slices with a little sugar to help them release some juices.

Then I like to toss HALF of the sugared peaches in cinnamon, so the fruit slices in the center of the cake mingle with creamy cinnamon swirls (similar to this peach quick bread). The other half of the peaches (without cinnamon) create the top layer of the cake. Again, the cinnamon is optional. You can simply toss ALL of the peaches with the cinnamon, or leave it out entirely.

Here’s the creamy batter, and center layer of cinnamon-sugar peaches:

As you can see, the cake is brimming with fresh peaches. A 9-inch springform pan (what you use for cheesecake) is ideal for this one-layer cake.

Here’s the cake before and after baking:

And while this natural beauty needs no extra embellishments, I like to sift a little dusting of confectioners’ sugar over the top just before serving. And, of course, whipped cream is always a welcome adornment.

Print

Fresh Peach Cake

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  Author: Sally
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  Prep Time: 20 minutes
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  Cook Time: 50 minutes
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  Total Time: 2 hours
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  Yield: serves 8-10
• 
  Category: Cake
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  Method: Baking
• 
  Cuisine: American

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Description

This easy recipe for fresh peach cake is a wonderful way to showcase sweet peaches when they’re in season. Soft and tender with a creamy crumb, and featuring 2 layers of juicy peaches for extra peach flavor in every bite, this cake needs no topping or decorating (though a dusting of powdered sugar is always welcome). A mixer is not required for this recipe.

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, 2/3 cup (133g) sugar, eggs, yogurt, vanilla and almond extracts, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Batter is creamy and slightly thick. You will have just over 3 cups of batter.
4. In a medium bowl, toss the peach slices with 1 Tablespoon of sugar to coat. Divide in half, moving half of the peaches to another bowl. Add cinnamon to one half of the peaches and gently stir to coat. The cinnamon is optional. You could also toss ALL of the peaches in the cinnamon; I like to toss only half so the center of the cake has plenty of cinnamon swirls.
5. Pour and spread half the batter (just eyeball it) into the prepared pan. Place the cinnamon-sugared peaches in an even layer on top. Spread the remaining batter on top of the cinnamon peach layer. Place remaining sugared peaches on top.
6. Bake for 50–55 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Around the 30-minute mark, loosely tent with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing, or cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, before serving.
8. Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you topped with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, note that the sugar will melt and disappear into the cake after a few hours.

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Notes

1. Freezing Instructions: Cover baked and cooled cake tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before serving.
2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Vegetable/Fruit Peeler | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Citrus Juicer & Zester | 9-inch springform pan | Cooling Rack | Sieve (for dusting confectioners’ sugar)
3. Can I Make This in a Different Pan? The recipe is designed for a 9-inch springform pan, but you could also use a 10-inch cast iron skillet. A 9-inch or 10-inch square baking pan work too. I also have a recipe for a peach Bundt cake, and a peach quick bread if you want to try those instead.
4. Yogurt: I tested this cake with nonfat and low-fat Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, and sour cream—all were excellent. Greek yogurt added a little more tang and structure, though. You could also use a dairy-free yogurt to make this cake dairy free.
5. Peaches: Fresh peaches are the best option for this fresh peach cake. If you must use frozen peach slices, thaw and then blot them dry before using. Canned peaches would be fine in a pinch, but the texture is much better with fresh. If using canned, be sure to drain and blot dry first.