Perfect Peach Pound Cake
Unlock the secret to a perfect Peach Pound Cake with this comprehensive recipe. Explore baking tips, ingredient selection, and a step-by-step instruction. Turn your summer peaches into an irresistible dessert that’s moist, tender, and flavorful.
A delectable peach pound cake is a dessert worthy of your freshest peaches. This recipe will guide you in crafting a tender, moist pound cake that is beautiful enough to present to your guests.
Plus, it’s easy! Who doesn’t relish the heavenly sweetness of peaches? In this guide, we will not only share the recipe for the perfect peach pound cake but also tips on how to make it even better. If you’re a peach lover, this recipe is a must-try!
Fresh peaches bring a unique flavor to the table that can transform ordinary desserts into something extraordinary. My old fashioned peach cobbler and German peach cake (peach kuchen) recipes are some favorite peach desserts we love to prepare every summer.
Now, I am adding the peach pound cake to my peach recipe repertoire. If you’re on the hunt for a sublime summer fruit cake, look no further!
Unveiling the Ultimate Peach Dessert
Pound cake is recognized for its delicate yet dense texture. It was originally named after its recipe that called for a pound each of four ingredients – flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.
In modern pound cake variations, the proportions vary, but the delightful outcome remains the same. This peach pound cake recipe provides a delicious excuse to bake a peach cake that everyone will rave about.
There are many reasons why you should try this recipe, especially during peach season.
- The cake is light, airy, and incredibly moist, preserving the dreamy dense texture a classic pound cake should have.
- A dash of heavy cream instead of sour cream introduces a creamier flavor.
- And with the use of cake flour, the cake achieves a fine, moist, and velvety texture.
- Don’t worry if you don’t have cake flour, I’ll provide an alternative using common pantry items.
- To top it off, every mouthful bursts with aromatic peachy flavor.
Selecting the Best Peaches: Fresh vs. Frozen
Choosing the right peaches for your pound cake is critical. Fresh peaches, especially ripe summer ones, offer an unparalleled sweet, tangy flavor and a delightful texture.
Always select peaches that are ripe but still firm to the touch for the best results. However, if fresh peaches are not available, canned or frozen ones are a practical and tasty alternative.
Opt for canned peaches packed in juice rather than syrup, and drain them well before use. Frozen peaches can be added directly to the batter.
While they may not perfectly mimic the vibrancy of fresh peaches, with care, you can still achieve a delicious, peachy pound cake that will delight your taste buds.
Perfect Peach Pound Cake: Tips and Advice
Making a great peach pound cake isn’t just about following a recipe; it’s also about understanding the nuances that lead to a great outcome.
- Temperature — Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature to avoid curdling during mixing.
- Mixing — It is important to mix the ingredients well enough to get the right crumb texture. I trust my stand mixer to do the job. Hand-held electric mixers will work fine, too. If you want to mix by hand… it will make a good workout for toning your arm.
- Pan — I use my favorite Nordicware Bavaria bundt pan. It has 10-cup capacity and is perfect for this recipes’ volume. You can also use a 9×5 inch loaf pan or the common 12-cup capacity bundt pan. Make sure to grease all the nooks and crannies, especially if you are using a bundt pan.
Essential Ingredients List
- Cake flour – Makes the pound cake delicate, but still able to hold the dense texture. For a substitute, use all-purpose flour with a little bit of cornstarch (1-3/4 cup all purpose flour + 4 tablespoon cornstarch)
- Baking powder – Just a tiny bit will enhance the leavening
- Butter (room temperature) – A must for any pound cake
- Sugar – If you can find caster sugar, which is essentially fine granulated sugar, that will create finer crumbs. If it’s not available in your area, just use plain granulated sugar.
- Eggs (room temperature) — Adds flavor and holds the cake together.
- Lemon zest — Adds a fresh taste without being overpowering.
- Vanilla extract — For fragrance and flavor.
- Heavy cream — Makes the cake moist and brings a creamier taste.
- Peaches — I recommend using fresh ripe peaches, but frozen or canned peaches will do just as well.
How to Make Peach Pound Cake
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
- In the bowl of electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually add sugar and beat until the mixture becomes light and fluffy at medium-high speed, about 3-4 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to medium. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix well.
- Turn the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the heavy cream. Mix until the flour is just barely incorporated.
- Coat diced peaches with 2 tablespoons of flour in a bowl and add to the cake batter. Stir into the cake batter until combined. Do not over mix.
- Put the cake batter into a prepared pan and smooth the top with a fork.
- Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wired rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Unmold the cake and let cool completely, right side up, before slicing.
Serving Suggestions and Storage Tips
I like to dust my cake with powdered sugar and serve plain with a cup of tea. For an even more elegant option, serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a side of fresh peach slices.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or refrigerate for up to 10 days.
This peach cake freezes well.
Make sure to wrap it with plastic wrap and place into a freezer-safe bag, and it can freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, leave the cake at room temperature for about an hour or longer until it is fully thawed.
More Cake Recipes to Try
These cakes below are a few of my favorite dessert recipes. Hope you get to try them all.
- Heavenly Coconut Chocolate Chip Cake
- Chocolate Oatmeal Cake with Pecan Caramel Topping
- Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Black Bottom Banana Cake
Perfect Peach Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cup cake flour, *see note below for a substitute
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cup fresh peach, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp flour, to coat peach cubes
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease a bundt pan or 9×5 inch loaf pan. Dust the pan with flour and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
- In the bowl of electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat until the mixture becomes light and fluffy at medium-high speed, about 3-4 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to medium. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix well.
- Turn the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the heavy cream. Mix until the flour is just barely incorporated.
- Coat diced peaches with 2 tablespoons of flour in a bowl and add to the cake batter. Stir into the cake batter until combined. Do not over mix. Put the cake batter into a prepared pan and smooth the top with a fork.
- Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wired rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Unmold the cake and let cool completely, right side up, before slicing.
Perfect as is. I doubled the recipe to make it in three loaf pans to give as gifts. I didn’t have cream so I substituted 1 C 2% milk and I used 1 16 oz bag of frozen peach slices from Target and diced them. I followed all the steps religiously and they came out perfectly. I am a novice baker (at best) so I appreciated all the specific steps. Baked at 325 degrees for 1 hr, 15 mins.
Thank you very much. It was fun.
Angela R.
Cedar Rapids, IA
Just made this as written with cake flour, but I did 1/2 tsp of baking powder for more lift, and I added 1/2 tsp almond extract in addition to the vanilla. The lemon zest brings a nice brightness to the flavor. Also, I used fresh farmers market peaches that I blanched and peeled yesterday and tossed with some lemon juice to prevent browning. The lemon juice in the peaches is a nice addition to turn up their flavor. My only issue… I did this in a 9×5 loaf pan and at 325 it really needed more like 100+ min for a knife to come out clean. (I lost track, just checked every 10 min or so. It’s a LOT of “wet” to bake up. I baked it in my Breville oven which is usually accurate. I draped foiL on it after an hour to prevent over browning. The end result is incredibly delicious. I might cut the sugar back to 1 cup if I make this again.
This is gorgeous! And peaches are in season right now where I live — perfect timing. Thanks!