Upside Down Peach Cake
Published 7/24/2023
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This upside down peach cake puts a delicious spin on the classic pineapple version we all know and love, but makes juicy peaches its star! The tasty peach layer is accompanied by honey, brown sugar, and almonds for an irresistible dessert.
We’ve all heard of the classic pineapple upside down cake, but have you tried peach upside down cake?! The warm flavor of fresh peaches is elevated by a brown sugar coating to create delicious caramelized peaches.
Topped with a light and fluffy cake (thanks to the Greek Yogurt), this delicious dessert is sure to be a hit at your next gathering!
what sets our upside down cake apart?
- The Greek yogurt makes the moistest, most tender cake!
- The caramelized peaches combined with the honey and almonds are fantastic.
- Beautiful to look at and heavenly to eat — aka the perfect dessert to pass!
Featured Ingredients
- Peach: All you need is one peach to make this recipe. Canned peaches also taste good, but we prefer fresh.
- Light brown sugar: brown sugar is used to caramelize the peaches so they are buttery and sweet.
- Unsalted butter: you’ll need both unsoftened and softened butter for this recipe.
- Honey: honey is another important ingredient for caramelizing the peaches.
- Almond extract: we love how the almonds taste with the peaches! SO good.
- Greek yogurt: use full-fat Greek yogurt to get the richest flavor and creamiest texture.
- Milk: whole milk is best for this recipe, but low-fat or almond milk can also be used.
- Almonds: we love how this cake tastes with almonds, but feel to replace the sliced almonds with any type of nut.
Top Tips for Upside Down Peach Cake
If the peach slices feel firm, allow them to rest in the brown sugar a bit longer. You want to make sure that the peaches are nice and soft before you pour the caramel over them.
Be sure not to over-mix the cake batter. If you do, you’ll end up with a stodgy cake… and no one wants that!
Note that the baking time of your cake may vary. This will ultimately depend on the oven and what altitude your house is at.
FAQ
An upside down cake is a type of dessert made by inverting the ingredients. This means that you place the topping of fruit, nuts, or caramelized sugar at the bottom of the cake tin before pouring into your batter.
After baking, the cake is flipped over so that the topping becomes the top of the cake. It is a popular dessert because it looks great, and its presentation is unique!
Easy—just make sure your pan is well-lubed! Take a half cup of melted butter and pour it into the round cake pan. Swirl it around until the bottom and sides of the pan are coated. This will create a buttery barrier between your cake and the pan, ensuring that your peach upside down cake comes out as perfect as it went in.
How do you get an upside down cake out of the pan?
Flipping an upside down cake can be risky business, but not when you’ve got the right technique. Here’s what to do:
- Let your cake cool for five minutes before attempting the flip.
- Run a small spatula around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake from the pan.
- Place a serving plate upside-down over the top of the cake pan.
- Wearing an oven mitt, firmly hold the cake pan and invert it quickly onto the plate.
And there you have it — a perfectly flipped upside down cake!
Storage
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend placing it in a cake keeper for easy storage.
Upside Down Peach Cake
Ingredients
Fruit Layer
- 1 large peach, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, separated
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
Cake
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Wet
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup milk, any kind
Candied Almonds
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Transfer the peaches to a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Toss until the peaches are coated in brown sugar. Place the peaches into the bottom of the cake pan overlapped or in a design.
- Make the honey caramel. Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the honey and the remaining brown sugar to the saucepan. Whisk the ingredients together.
- Bring the caramel to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel over the peaches in the pan.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together and set aside.
- Using a standing mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and almond extract together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until combined.
- Next, add the Greek yogurt and milk to the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. The cake batter should be thick but easy enough to pour. If the cake batter is too thick to pour, add 1-2 tablespoons more milk.
- Pour the cake batter over the peaches and gently shake the cake pan to evenly distribute the cake batter.
- Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Be sure not to overbake the cake as it will continue to bake when you remove it from the oven.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the almonds. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds. Toast the almonds for 2-3 minutes, tossing so they don’t burn. When they begin to brown, add the honey. Toss the almonds until coated and then cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the honey begins to brown.
- Immediately remove the almonds from the skillet. Transfer them to a plate. Spread the almonds out to cool.
- Let the cake sit for a few minutes before running a knife around the outside edge of the cake. Gently tip the cake pan over a bowl to catch any excess caramel. Be careful, it will be hot.
- Then, quickly flip the cake upside down onto a cooling rack. Pour the excess caramel back onto the cake. Top the cake with candied almonds. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- Option to serve the cake with whipped cream.
Tips & Notes
- If the peach slices are firm, let them rest in the brown sugar longer.
- Do not over-mix the cake batter, or you will end up with stodgy cake.
- The bake time may vary depending on the oven or altitude.
- Feel to replace the sliced almonds with any type of nut.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.
Absolutely delicious! The directions were spot on! I will definitely be making this again during peach picking season! I served with homemade vanilla ice cream! Yummy!