Upside down cake is one of those retro desserts that everyone I know grew up with and loved. Pineapple was the most common flavor, of course. But have you ever had a peach upside down cake? It’s a completely delicious way to bake with fresh peaches during peach season. The peaches are soaked in a rich, sweet syrup of brown sugar and butter, with vanilla cake batter poured right on top. After flipping the baked cake over, the peaches in all that glorious sauce end up on top of the cake, keeping it moist and flavorful. The high altitude vanilla cake is soft, a little dense like a pound cake, and so good in this slightly rustic dessert.
Some recipes will call for canned peaches topped with cake mix batter, and other recipes are baked in a cast iron skillet. My recipe is completely from scratch, easily baked in a cake pan. A spring form pan makes it easier to tip the cake over, but isn’t essential. This peach upside down cake is wonderful warm from the oven, or served at room temperature. You can bake it in the afternoon and serve it that evening with no planning ahead other than setting out your butter to soften. I’d call this an “everyday cake”, and it’s one that your family and friends will be so excited to eat.
You might also love these spiced peach vanilla cupcakes, brown butter peach crumb bars, and peach lattice pie.
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Why You’ll Love This Cake
Versatile. Make an upside down cake with pineapple, peaches, apples or even rhubarb, and it will be fantastic every time. Do you have a vanilla layer cake recipe you already love? Just cut your recipe in half and use it for an upside down cake.
Easy, Simple and Modestly Sized. Just look at my cake recipes, and you’ll know I love sky-high, buttercream frosted layer cakes. But sometimes a simple cake is just what I’m in the mood for, one that’s quick and easy to make with little fuss, and is just enough to serve for dessert without too much leftover.
Soft, Gooey and Buttery. With the moist, buttery vanilla cake, juicy peaches and gooey butter and brown sugar syrup, this cake is hard to resist.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Peaches. You can use fresh or frozen peaches, whichever is most convenient and in season.
- Dark Brown Sugar. The dark brown sugar sprinkled over the peach layer melts into the butter, creating a sticky sweet syrup that’s just incredible.
- Unsalted Butter. You’ll be using melted butter, both on the peach layer, and mixed into the cake batter for moisture and flavor.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.
- Eggs. Gives the cake structure.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Whole Milk + Sour Cream. Using full-fat dairy will give your cake more flavor and better texture.
- Lemon Zest + Lemon Juice. A little hint of lemon adds brightness and complements the flavor of the peaches.
- All-Purpose Flour. Gives the cake structure.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the cake batter.
- Cinnamon + Nutmeg. Flavor.
TIP: Be sure to spray your cake pan thoroughly with nonstick baking spray AND line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper. The gooey peach layer is very sticky, and will not cleanly release from the pan without these precautions.
Instructions
Peach Layer
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch spring form cake pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Peel and pit the peaches, then slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange the peach slices in the bottom of the pan (Image 1).
- Sprinkle with the brown sugar, and then drizzle with the 4 tablespoons melted butter (Image 2 & 3).
Cake Batter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup melted butter with the granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, sour cream, lemon zest and lemon juice, until smooth.
- Separately, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk together briefly, just to combine, until mostly smooth.
- Pour the cake batter over the peaches (Image 4). Bang the pan several times on the counter to settle the batter around the peaches.
TIP: The long bake time of 70 minutes may seem like too much. But it’s a thick layer of cake that’s very moist, and you want to make sure you don’t have uncooked batter in the center.
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3 4
Bake
- Bake for about 70 minutes, until a sharp knife in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate or cake pedestal and let cool for several hours.
- Serve warm, or at room temperature, with ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make an upside down cake with fruit other than peaches?
Absolutely! Of course, pineapple is a classic fruit for an upside down cake. Apricots or nectarines would work just as well as peaches. In the fall, an apple upside down cake would be cozy and delicious. And a rhubarb upside down cake is just fantastic with the tart fruit in the sweet syrup. With rhubarb, you can get pretty creative in how you cut and arrange the stalks into geometric patterns.
Should I use fresh or frozen peaches?
Both fresh and frozen peaches work equally well. When fresh peaches are in season, I like to use those, but in the off season, frozen are very convenient and easy to use. You can use canned peaches, too, as long as you drain the syrup.
Do I need to peel the peaches first?
Personally, I always peel peaches before baking with them, since I don’t care for the texture of the peel after it’s baked. But if you don’t mind it, feel free to leave the peaches unpeeled.
What’s the best pan to use for an upside down cake?
I used an 8-inch spring form pan with a removable bottom, which makes turning the cake over very easy. A spring form pan isn’t essential, though, as long as you’ve greased your cake pan well and lined the bottom with parchment paper. You can use either an 8 or 9-inch cake pan, but since this is a lot of cake batter for a single layer of cake, be sure that your 8-inch pan has 3-inch high sides, or the batter will overflow.
Will the liquid leak out of a spring form pan?
This will depend on how well your pan seals at the bottom. My pan has never leaked at all, but all pans are different. Test your pan with some water inside to see if it drips out the bottom. If it does, wrap your pan in aluminum foil so it doesn’t drip inside your oven.
Is this cake dense or fluffy?
It’s definitely more dense like a pound cake, with a very moist texture and buttery flavor.
How long should I cool the cake before flipping it over?
You should cool the cake for 10 minutes, then flip it over. If you wait too long, the fruit and syrup will stick harder to the cake pan.
What if the peaches stick to the cake pan when I turn the cake over?
This may well happen, although it’s less likely if you’ve greased your pan well AND lined the bottom with parchment paper. But it’s no big deal if the peaches stick. Just put them back into place and it will still be delicious.
What should I serve with this cake?
It’s fantastic served warm with fresh whipped cream, homemade vanilla bean ice cream or cinnamon ice cream.
Does this cake need to be refrigerated?
The cake will be fine at room temperature for about 12 hours, as it cools. After that, you should cover it and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. Since it’s so moist and topped with juicy, fresh fruit, it will spoil if kept at room temperature. You can re-warm individual slices in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds at 50% power.
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High Altitude Peach Upside Down Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 8-inch Springform Pan with Removable Bottom (3 inch tall sides)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ripe fresh peaches, or frozen and thawed peaches (about 3 large peaches)
- ½ cup (80g) dark brown sugar
- 4 tbsp (56.5g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ⅛ cups granulated sugar
- 2 (110g) large eggs
- 1 tsp (4g) vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (179ml) whole milk
- ⅓ cup (80g) sour cream
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 2 tbsp (33ml) lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp (8g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch spring form cake pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Peel and pit the peaches, then slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange the peach slices in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, and then drizzle with the 4 tablespoons melted butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup melted butter with the granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, sour cream, lemon zest and lemon juice, until smooth.
- Separately, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk together briefly, just to combine, until mostly smooth.
- Pour the cake batter over the peaches. Bang the pan several times on the counter to settle the batter around the peaches.
- Bake for about 70 minutes, until a sharp knife in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate or cake pedestal and let cool for several hours. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with freshly whipped cream.
Great recipe. The cake was delicious! However I would not recommend using a springform pan because the butter/peach juice leaked.
I’m so glad you loved the cake! That’s unfortunate that your pan leaked – I haven’t had that issue with mine, so I’m sure it depends on how tightly it’s sealed at the bottom. Wrapping the pan in foil will always help to contain leaks. 🙂
Very yummy. I used only 3/4 cup sugar as the peaches were sweet & it turned out wonderful. The cake is so good & I’ll certainly use it as a base for other upside down cakes. I see plum in the future!