A fabulous Peach Upside Down Cake is easy to whip up and perfect for summer gatherings. A delicious buttery cake is topped with caramelized peaches with a second peach layer in the middle!
This dessert is perfect for casual family dinners and more sophisticated gatherings. But the best part about this cake is how each bite captures the essential summer flavors.
The marriage of the sweet, juicy fruit with the rich, buttery cake makes peach upside-down cake a truly fabulous dessert that will leave you and your guests going back for seconds, or maybe even thirds!
In this post, we’ll go through the process of making this delightful peach upside down cake with step-by-step instructions. Plus, I include tips for choosing the best fresh peaches to make your cake truly shine, along with how you can make this cake with canned or frozen peaches when it is not peach season.
Looking for more peach dessert ideas? Try my lazy day cobbler, peach blueberry crisp, or peach crostata.
🍑Choosing the Right Peaches
When making a peach upside down cake, the show’s star is, of course, the peaches. To ensure the best flavor, use fresh, ripe peaches.
I’ve found that the juicier the peach, the better the cake turns out. If you use underripe peaches, the cake will still be tasty, but the peaches will be firmer. Whether you peel the peaches or not is entirely a matter of choice.
🥘Other Ingredients
For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below
- Cream cheese – Cream cheese isn’t a standard ingredient for cake, but it is the secret ingredient that keeps this cake moist and delicious.
- Brown sugar
- White sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Butter
- Eggs
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
🥣How to Make Upside Down Cake
- Prep: Slice the peaches into thin, even slices. Peeling them is optional, and I don’t bother. Spray your 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Make topping: Put the sliced peaches in a mixing bowl. Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and mix it with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle the butter mixture over the peaches and stir.
- Arrange the peaches: Place half of the peaches in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread them out so they cover the dish. Save the other half for a layer in the middle.
- Making the cake batter: In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add cream cheese and the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and milk.
- Add dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until the batter is smooth and well combined.
- Pour batter over peaches: Carefully spread about half of the batter over the arranged peach slices. Top them with the remainder of the peach slices. Then finish it off with the rest of the batter. Be sure to spread the batter evenly, covering all of the peaches.
- Bake: Bake the upside down cake in a 360-degree F oven for 40 minutes, covering the pan with foil for the first 20 minutes.
- Flip: Once your cake is fully baked, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. To flip the cake, place a large serving plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert the cake onto the plate. Gently lift the pan off the cake, revealing the gorgeous peach pattern. If peach slices stick to the pan, simply place them back onto the cake.
🍴Serving Ideas
Here are some delicious serving ideas.
- A La Mode: Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a warm slice of cake. The combination of warm peaches and cool ice cream creates a delightful contrast that’s hard to resist.
- Whipped Cream: A dollop of whipped cream on top adds a creamy element to your cake.
- Drizzle with Caramel Sauce: Add a drizzle of caramel sauce to your peach upside down cake. It’s a delicious addition that takes your cake to the next level.
- Fresh Fruit: If you’ve got some extra peaches, slice them up and serve them alongside your cake. This makes for a beautiful presentation.
💭How to Store
If you plan to enjoy the leftover cake within a day or two, cover it with plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container at room temperature. This will help maintain the cake’s moisture and texture.
For more extended storage of up to a week, wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Before serving, allow the cake to come to room temperature for the best flavor and texture.
Pro tip: If you have a cake dome or a cake carrier with a lid, these work great for refrigerated storage.
⭐Tips
Be sure to check out the step by step instructions
- Choosing the right peaches is the key to a great peach upside down cake. You want to use fresh, ripe, but firm peaches. Overripe peaches can be too soft and mushy, making your cake soggy. On the other hand, underripe peaches can be too hard and won’t caramelize as well.
- When it comes to arranging the peach slices in the pan, you can be creative. A well-arranged pattern will make your peach cake look stunning when you flip it over. Or, if you are making this for a quick weeknight dessert, don’t worry about arranging the slices. Just keep them in a single layer.
📝FAQ
While I always recommend using fresh, juicy peaches for the best flavor and texture, you can use canned peaches in a pinch. Just drain them well and pat them dry before arranging them in the pan. Canned peaches might not caramelize as well as fresh ones, so the final result might be slightly different.
Of course. When using frozen peaches, it’s best to thaw them out completely and drain any excess liquid before using them in your recipe to prevent the cake from becoming too soggy. It won’t taste the same, but it will be a delicious and satisfying cake.
Yes, you can freeze your peach upside down cake! Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in an airtight container or a resealable plastic freezer bag. You can freeze it whole or in individual slices for up to three months. To thaw, transfer the cake to the refrigerator and let it defrost overnight.
To check if your peaches are ripe, gently press the fruit with your thumb. If it yields slightly, it’s ripe. If it feels hard, give it some time to ripen at room temperature. And if it feels mushy, it’s too ripe for this recipe.
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Peach Upside Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Peach Topping
- 4 peaches
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
Cake
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360F. Wash the peaches and cut into slices and place them in a bowl.4 peaches
Make the Topping
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Then combine the melted butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon.1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 4 tablespoons butter
- Drizzle the brown sugar mixture over the peaches and toss to mix.
- Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place half the peach mixture into the bottom and set the remainder aside.
Make the Cake
- Beat the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with white sugar until combined.4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Add cream cheese and beat for another minute on high speed.1 cup cream cheese
- Add eggs one at a time, beating each time until combined. Then add the milk and vanilla and mix well.3 eggs, ⅓ cup milk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with wet ingredients and mix well. The resulting dough should be thick, without lumps.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Spread half of the dough on top of the peaches.
- Put the rest of the peaches on the dough, spreading them to cover the batter.
- Cover the peaches with the remaining batter.
- Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Let the finished upside-down cake cool for 15 minutes, then carefully invert the baking dish onto a plate or cutting board.
Notes
- Choosing the right peaches is vital to a great peach upside down cake. Use fresh, ripe, but firm peaches.
- Peeling the peaches is optional.
- You can arrange the peach slices in a pretty pattern or just spread them out in the cake pan, whichever you prefer. Just keep them in a single layer.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
