Rustic Peach Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 1, 2012
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour cooling
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Peaches
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 medium peaches, peeled, pitted, and each cut into 8 wedgesCake
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) granulated sugar ¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened2 large eggs 2 tablespoons sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅓ cup dried peaches or apricots, chopped fineBefore You Begin
Since overly ripe peaches will make the cake soggy, look for barely ripe peaches that give slightly to the touch. Serve this cake with lightly sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Instructions
- For the peaches: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch springform pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl; reserve 2 tablespoons sugar mixture. Add peaches to bowl with remaining sugar mixture and toss to coat.
- For the cake: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until incorporated. Reduce speed to medium-low. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Scatter dried peaches over batter, then arrange sugared peaches in circular pattern over top, reserving 3 slices to fill the middle. Sprinkle reserved sugar mixture over peaches.
- Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool at least 1 hour. Serve. (Cake can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, for 2 days.)
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour coolingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Peaches
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Peaches
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Peaches
Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
The most popular peach cake recipes are rustic single-layer yellow cakes studded with chunks of fresh peaches. But many of these recipes have big problems. Some cakes were made mushy and wet by an excess of peach juice, while others featured chunks of bloated peaches that sank to the bottom of the pan and steamed. We wanted our Rustic Peach Cake recipe to avoid these pitfalls. For a sturdier crumb that could better support the fruit on top, we used all-purpose flour instead of cake flour. Because the peaches were so sweet, we cut back the sugar, and used a mixture of granulated and light brown sugars for more flavor. To absorb excess moisture from the peaches and prevent the cake from becoming soggy, we scattered chopped dried peaches or apricots over the batter before arranging the fresh peaches on top. The dried fruit soaked up the excess peach juice, eliminating a soggy cake top. Since overly ripe peaches will make the cake soggy, we looked for barely ripe peaches, ones that gave only slightly to the touch.
Before You Begin
Since overly ripe peaches will make the cake soggy, look for barely ripe peaches that give slightly to the touch. Serve this cake with lightly sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Instructions
- For the peaches: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch springform pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl; reserve 2 tablespoons sugar mixture. Add peaches to bowl with remaining sugar mixture and toss to coat.
- For the cake: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla until incorporated. Reduce speed to medium-low. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Scatter dried peaches over batter, then arrange sugared peaches in circular pattern over top, reserving 3 slices to fill the middle. Sprinkle reserved sugar mixture over peaches.
- Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool at least 1 hour. Serve. (Cake can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, for 2 days.)
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