Peach Upside Down Cake
When summer peaches are at their prime, add a scrumptious, old-fashioned Peach Upside Down Cake to your dessert menu!
Upside Down Cakes became popular a century ago, and this peach version is a tasty twist on the classic pineapple version.
Why You Must Make
- It’s perfect for peach season!
- If you’ve never made an upside-down cake, this is a terrific recipe to try.
- It’s super moist and utterly delicious.
Ingredient Notes:
- Butter – I use salted butter. Leave out on the counter for about an hour to let the butter soften before making the batter.
- Large Peaches – Taste before using to make sure they’re soft, ripe, and sweet. See above for how to easily peel them.
- Sugar – Regular white granulated sugar
- Flour – All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder – Check the expiration date. If it’s close to expiring, it’s best to replace it. You can also check its potency by putting a spoonful in a small bowl and adding some very hot/boiling water. If it bubbles vigorously, it’s active. If not, buy a fresh can.
- Ground Cinnamon – Use half as much nutmeg or the same amount of ground ginger to shake things up. I prefer cinnamon with peaches.
- Salt – I prefer table salt as its smaller granules disperse throughout the batter better than when using coarse salt.
- Eggs – Use Large eggs.
Expert Tips
- Use sweet ripe peaches for the best results.
- PRO-Tip: To peel peaches, boil a pan of water. Then, on the non-stem end, cut an X just through the peel and place it in the water for 30-60 seconds. Remove to a bowl of ice water, then slip off the peel when cool enough to handle.
- Slice peaches ½-inch thick.
- The New York Times recipe called for ¼ teaspoons nutmeg, but I prefer adding ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Feel free to use nutmeg if that’s your preference.
- I also added just a touch of salt as it’s important as a flavor booster in desserts as well as savory dishes.
- If you don’t want to make the caramel drizzle for the peaches, use a quality store-bought caramel sauce or sprinkle the peaches with a tablespoon or two of sugar before topping with the batter.
- The cake is inverted soon after it comes out of the oven. PRO-Tip: The pan and cake will be very hot so use baking mitts and good care when flipping it onto the serving piece.
- To serve, cut in wedges, and top with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce over the ice cream would push it over the top!!
Frequently Asked Questions
An upside-down cake is made by covering the bottom of a cake pan with fruit, then adding batter and baking. The name comes from the process of flipping the cake upside down so the fruit on the bottom becomes the topping.
The method for making upside-down cake involves a few simple steps. First is layering the fruit and any sugar, butter, etc. needed to enhance it across the bottom of the cake pan. Next is adding the batter over the fruit, baking the cake, and finally, inverting it so the fruit on the bottom becomes the fruit on the top.
As always, it’s best to follow the recommendation of your recipe. But typically it’s flipped soon after it comes out of the oven. If it’s left to cool too long, the fruit will stick to the bottom of the pan.
You May Also Like:
- Raspberry Peach Cobbler from Simple Joy
- Fresh Peach Bars
- Southern Peach Bread
- Streusel-Topped Peach Tart
- Classic Peach Crisp
- More of the Best Dessert Recipes
Peach Upside Down Cake
A twist on the old-fashioned pineapple upside-down cake made with fresh, sweet peaches.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (4 ounces) butter, softened plus more to grease the pan
- 3 ripe fresh peaches
- 1 ¼ cups sugar, divided
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Grease a 9-inch cake pan with butter, line with a round of parchment, and grease the top of the parchment paper. Set aside.
- Peel the peaches, cut them in half, remove the pits, and cut into ½-inch slices.
- Arrange the peach slices on the bottom of the cake pan; set aside.
- Make the caramel by mixing ½ cup of the sugar and ¼ cup of water in a heavy bottom saucepan. Cook on medium-high, swirling the pan occasionally until the sugar melts and the mixture turns amber. Drizzle the caramel over the peaches.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, beat the butter and the remaining ¾ cup of sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- Stir in the flour mixture and spread evenly over the peaches.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until it looks set and a toothpick inserted into a few spots at the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Make sure the cake is loosened from the sides of the pan by running a table knife or offset spatula around the perimeter of the pan.
- Flip the cake out onto a serving platter or cake stand (invert the serving piece onto the top of the pan and carefully flip the two over in unison). Remove the pan and peel off the parchment if needed and arrange any peaches that were dislodged.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream
Notes
May use canned peaches if peaches are out of season.
If you don't want to make your own caramel, just use some premium jarred caramel sauce to drizzle over the peaches.
To easily peel peaches, cut a shallow X on the nonstem ends. Cook for 30-60 seconds in a pot of boiling water, remove to an ice bath and then pull off the skin with your fingers or a knife.
Recipe adapted from the New York Times.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 1gSugar: 37gProtein: 5g
Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
4 Comments on “Peach Upside Down Cake”
Ooo this is such a wonderful summer cake – moist, delicious, and packed with summer aroma! I also can imaging serving this with whipped cream…well, just because of peach and cream 🙂
This is really amazing! Such a perfect dessert for my family!
Perfect with a nice strong cup of coffee:@)
We love upside down cakes with all different kinds of seasonal fruit. Peach is definitely one of the favourites.