This Peach Cake starts with a boxed cake mix that is spruced up with fresh peaches and a homemade brown butter frosting. It is like summertime in cake form!
AN EASY CAKE WITH FRESH FRUIT
This Easy Peach Cake is the ultimate summer dessert. It’s soft, moist, and bursting with juicy peaches in every bite. Topped with rich, nutty browned butter frosting, every bite is sweet, slightly creamy and refreshing. I love that it’s a breeze to make and that it’s perfect to take to potlucks, yet simple enough to whip up earlier in the day for family dinners. To me, this Peach Cake with Brown Butter Frosting screams SUMMER!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Sure, if you don’t have a French vanilla cake mix, you can use a white cake mix or yellow cake mix. You can even use Homemade Yellow Cake Mix.
You can use the same amount of frozen peaches as fresh, but thaw them first then blot them before using. If you don’t remove some of the moisture, the cake may not bake properly as the batter may be too wet.
Yes. The same amount of canned peaches can be used, but again you’d need to drain them really well. The texture will also be different, so just keep that in mind. I haven’t tested this with canned peaches so I am not exactly sure how much to use. Perhaps two large cans but this will be one you will have to experiment with on your own to see how much.
Now, let me just say, you can peel peaches like you peel a potato with a peeler. However, blanching peaches is a great way to remove the skin if you don’t have a peeler and it’s easy. Here’s how to do it step-by-step:
Use a sharp knife to make a small X on the bottom of each peach, not too deep, just through the skin to help loosen the skin more easily once they’re blanched.
Then, bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and gently transfer the peaches into the water.
Boil the peaches for 30–60 seconds, just until you see the skin around the X starting to peel back.
Quickly transfer the peaches into a bowl of ice water using a slotted spoon or tongs. Be very careful as the peaches will be HOT.
Let the peaches sit for about 1 minute in the ice water to stop the cooking process.
Once the peaches have cooled, peel off the skin with a knife or your hands if you can handle them. The skin should come off easily.
Finally, cut the peaches in half, remove the pits, and slice or chop them as needed for the recipe.
Yep. You will be using the ingredient amounts on the back of the box mix to make the cake. To make a slightly richer cake, replace the water with milk and oil with melted butter.
If you don’t want a brown butter frosting, you can skip the browning part and just use the same amount of softened butter. Or purchase a store-bought frosting.
If you are concerned your peach slices will sink to the bottom of the cake, add 2 Tablespoons of flour to the sliced peaches and toss to coat before laying them on the cake batter. However, I don’t worry about it. I haven’t had an issue so far with that happening. If it does, it’s only very slightly. They are larger pieces of fruit (unlike blueberries, for example) so they tend to stay where you put them, but if you are at all concerned about that, just go by my instructions above.
If you brown the butter and chill it ahead of time, you will need to soften it (not melt) before making the frosting.
No. You don’t need to prepare the Jell-O all all before adding to the cake batter. We are keeping it as a powder to add to the cake mix to boost that peach flavor. You do not have to add it if you do not want.
Since there is dairy in the frosting, I would cover and store it in the refrigerator.
You should be able to store the cake covered for 3 days in the refrigerator. Though the moisture from the peaches may make the bottom of the cake a little extra moist. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- French Vanilla Cake Mix– above in the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section, I shared a few other options you could try with this recipe, if desired.
- ingredients needed to make cake– eggs, oil and water. The amounts and what you actually need may vary from brand to brand, so check your specific box to see what your specific kind recommends. Again, see my FAQ section above for alternative ingredients to make a richer cake.
- peach Jell-o– you’re just tossing the powder into the cake batter mixture to enhance the flavor. Can’t find peach Jell-O, just skip it.
- large ripe peaches – Whenever I have a recipe for fresh peaches, everyone wants to know about canned or frozen peaches and whenever I have a dessert using canned peaches, everyone wants to know about fresh. Ha! So please see my FAQ section above to get more details on those other options.
- white granulated sugar
- ground cinnamon
- chopped pecans – these can be an optional ingredient. I know some of you have a love/hate relationship with nuts and nuts in your desserts. Use them if you like the added crunch. Omit them if you don’t. Other nuts would work well too instead of pecans. Chopped walnuts and almonds would be delicious!
- unsalted butter – Check out my Tips to Soften Butter Quickly if you need them. You can use salted butter instead of unsalted and just remove the additional salt added.
- cream cheese – softened to room temperature. I also have Tips to Soften Cream Cheese too, if you want to check them out. Just a reminder that cream cheese comes in 8 ounce packages. You will need 1 ½ packages of cream cheese for this recipe with a total of 12 ounces.
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE FRESH PEACH CAKE:
To save time, prepare the browned butter first so that it has time to resolidify while baking the cake. Add the stick of butter to a small saucepan or skillet. Heat over medium while stirring occasionally. Once the butter fully melts, it will start to foam. Then stir constantly (and I do mean constantly!) as it continues to cook for another minute or two. You will begin to see small brown flecks in the butter, and it will start to smell like nuts and caramel.
Stir for another minute and then remove from heat. You want a lot of brown flecks, but you don’t want them to burn. Allow the butter to sit on the stovetop to resolidify while you make the cake.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish by spraying the bottom only with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Prepare the box of cake mix according to package directions. Add the Jello powder to the batter and thoroughly mix in. Pour half of the cake batter (2 cups) into the bottom of the pan and spread evenly across the bottom. Add the sliced peaches in a single layer over the cake batter. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the peaches.
Sprinkle all the chopped pecans, except for 2 Tablespoons, over the peaches. Pour the remaining 2 cups of batter over the peaches and spread to evenly cover.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake and allow it to cool completely before frosting. Add the brown butter to a mixing bowl and use a stand or hand mixer to cream the butter until smooth. You can use the whisk or beater attachment. Add the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla and salt and continue to beat (or use whisk) until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time mixing on medium to combine. Fully mix in the powdered sugar until everything is well combined and creamy.
Add the frosting to the fully cooled cake and spread to evenly cover. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans and serve.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
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To save time, prepare the browned butter first so that it has time to resolidify while baking the cake.
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Add ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature to a small saucepan or skillet.
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Heat over medium while stirring occasionally.
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Once the butter fully melts, it will start to foam. Then stir constantly (and I do mean constantly!) as it continues to cook for another minute or two. You will begin to see small brown flecks in the butter, and it will start to smell like nuts and caramel.
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Stir for another minute and then remove from heat. You want a lot of brown flecks, but you don’t want them to burn. Allow the butter to sit in the sauce pan to slowly solidify while you make the cake.
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Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
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Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish by spraying the bottom only with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
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Prepare 1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix with ingredients needed to make cake: eggs, oil and water (using the amounts on the back of the box). Add the 3 ounce box peach Jell-o to the batter and thoroughly mix in.
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Pour half of the cake batter (about 2 cups) into the bottom of the pan and spread evenly across the bottom.
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Add 3-4 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced in a single layer over the cake batter.
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In a small bowl combine ¼ cup white granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon/
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Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the peaches.
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Sprinkle the chopped pecans, except for 2 Tablespoons, over the peaches.
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Pour the remaining cake batter over the peaches and spread to evenly cover.
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Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
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Remove the cake and allow it to cool completely before frosting.
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Add the brown butter to a mixing bowl and use a stand or hand mixer to cream the butter until smooth. (You can use the whisk or beater attachment)
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Add 1 ½ packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon salt and continue to beat (or use whisk) until smooth and creamy.
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Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time mixing on medium to combine.
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Fully mix in the powdered sugar until everything is well combined and creamy.
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Add the frosting to the fully cooled cake and spread to evenly cover. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pecans and serve.
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- We love the cinnamon sugar in this cake but if you don’t want any added sugar, just sprinkle the cinnamon on the peaches or skip that step altogether.
Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Sodium: 393mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 68g
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
