Fresh Peach Cake with Peach Jam Filling and Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

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Celebrating the best summer fruit with this delicious Peach Cake with Peach Jam Filling and Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting. Three layers of light, fluffy cake made with puréed peaches, brown sugar, and nutmeg, filled with a 3 ingredient peach jam, and finished with a tangy, but oh-so sweet cream cheese frosting made with only brown sugar! When put together, this cake literally just melts in your mouth. It’s the perfect dessert to make for any peach lover! Bonus? This cake is not only tender, moist, and full of flavor, but it’s actually so much easier to make than you might think. Truly the perfect cake for summertime!

About The Recipe

Between you and me, I honestly didn’t think my mom and I were going to be able to get this cake done! Not because the cake was difficult or peaches were hard to get, but because summer heat this year has been intense.

No joke. It has been so hot in our house that the cakes didn’t want to bake right, the frosting melted off the cake…you name it, it happened. It was such a disaster for days!

My mom and I finally decided to try waking up early and turning the A/C up. This seemed to do the trick! The cakes baked beautifully, the frosting was stable, it came together quickly AND easily!

We couldn’t believe it. After days of struggling, all we need to do was crank-up the A/C. We both kind of laughed over the ridiculousness of it, but hey! Whatever works, right?

But, I’ll be completely honest, this cake was WORTH all the struggle. I have never had a peach dessert so full of flavor!

Though, as good as this cake is, I must admit…the brown sugar cream cheese frosting is the real star of this show. It’s tangy and sweet, with a subtle molasses undertone. It really compliments the peach flavor SO well!

Whether you’re looking for a summer-showstopper dessert or simple want to use the last of summer peaches, this cake is everything you could ever dream of. It’s seriously so delicious!

Reasons You Will Love This Fresh Peach Cake

• Easier to make than you might think.
• The perfect way to celebrate the delicious flavor of in-season peaches!
• A real crowd pleaser.
• Gorgeous with minimal effort.
• Each bite is full of flavor, tender, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Equipment Needed

• Medium Saucepan
• Wooden Spoon
• 12 Inch Skillet
• Blender
• 8 Inch Cake Pans
• Mixing Bowls
• Whisk
• Ladle
• Cake Tester
• Stand Mixer
• Rubber Spatula
• Cake Leveler
• Cake Stand
• Offset Spatula
• Piping Bag

Ingredients

Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

For The Jam:

• Chopped Peaches – For the best flavor, we recommend using fresh peaches to make the jam!
• Granulated Sugar – Adds sweetness and creates the “jammy” texture.
• Lemon Juice – Cuts some of the sweetness, while also acting as a natural preservative.

For The Cake:

• Salted Butter – This is for sautéing the peaches! It not only adds flavor, but a buttery richness to the peaches.
• Ripe Peaches – By using fresh peaches, it adds an intense flavor to this cake.
• Bourbon – We added a splash of bourbon to give the peaches a delicious undertone.
• Brown Sugar – Adds sweetness to the peaches.
• Ground Nutmeg – Provides a fuller bodied flavor to this cake, while complimenting the peaches nicely.
• All-Purpose Flour – No need for fancy cake flour for this recipe! Regular unbleached all-purpose gives this cake the perfect structure and texture.
• Granulated Sugar – Sugar does so much for baked goods other than sweeten! It keeps the cake soft, moist, it helps promote browning…it is an essential ingredient for structure and flavor!
• Baking Powder – Leavening is essential in baking. This provides the perfect rise in the cake to give is a light, tender, and delicious texture.
• Salt – Enhances the flavor while also cutting the sweetness of the cake.
• Whole Milk – Adding whole milk to a cake does SO MUCH! From creating a lighter, stronger crumb, to activating the leavening, and even making the cake itself a little richer.
• Large Eggs – Remember to set our your eggs ahead of time to allow them to come to room temperature before mixing.
• Vegetable Oil – Keeps the cake oh-so moist and tender.
• Vanilla Extract – Adds a sweet undertone to this cake.

For The Frosting:

• Heavy Cream – This is our secret to our no-fail cream cheese frosting! Using whipped cream helps keep the frosting stabilized and less likely to melt.
• Cream Cheese – Makes this frosting irresistibly rich and tangy!
• Brown Sugar – Instead of powdered sugar, we opted to use brown sugar to add a delicious flavor to compliment the peaches better.
• Salt – Cuts the sweetness slightly.
• Vanilla Extract – Just a splash to give this frosting the best-ever flavor!

How To Make This Peach Cake

Step 1: Prepare jam

In a medium saucepan, combine peaches, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 2: Sauté peaches

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add peaches, bourbon, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Sauté over medium low heat until peaches are soft, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 3: Blend

Transfer into blender and purée until completely smooth and no chunks of peaches remain. Set aside.

Step 4: Make cake batter

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, oil, vanilla, and peach purée.

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Whisk until well mixed.

Step 5: Bake

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake tests done. Allow to cool in pans before turning out.

Step 6: Prepare frosting

With an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream to medium stiff peaks.

Add cream cheese, one cube at a time. Beat until smooth.

Mix in sugar and salt.

Add vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Step 7: Assemble

Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting over top of cake. Pipe a border of frosting around the edges of the cake, leaving a ⅛ inch rim. Fill center of cake layer with ½ the jam.

Place next layer of top, pressing down slightly. Repeat filling. Top with final layer.

Frost top and sides of cake.

FAQ’s and Troubleshooting

Decorating Ideas

Once this cake is assembled, it is a blank canvas! There are SO many things you can do with this cake, but here are a few ideas to help you get started.

• Use fresh peaches slices or other complimentary fruit/berries to add color on top of the cake!
• Edible flowers not only add a cute addition to this cake, but also really make it pop with summer vibes.
• Make extra frosting to pipe decorations on top or bottom of this cake.
• Celebrating something? Add pastel colored sprinkles to add a cute celebratory vibe!

How To Store

Since this is a very moist cake, the best way to store it is in a covered cake plate and in the fridge for 5-6 days!

Though, if needed, you can also freeze this cake. You can either freeze the individual layers before assembly or you can freeze individual slices of this cake for up to 2 months.

Substitutions:

• You can use store-bought jam to fill the cake!
• Don’t have fresh peaches? You can use frozen or canned. Just be sure to use plain peaches. No peach filling or sweetened peaches!
• If desired, the bourbon can be omitted from the sautéed peaches. Instead, you can add about 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

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Expert Tips

• Depending on how your jam cooks down, you may have a little extra jam. You will need about 1 cup of jam divided in half between each layer.
• Be careful to not over-mix the cake batter.
• When dividing the cake batter, it’s best to use a ladle and a scale to help ensure each cake layer is even!
• If you’re unsure if the cake is baked, you can use a cake tester or a toothpick to test the cakes. If it comes out clean, the cake is fully baked!
• Let the cake layers cool COMPLETELY before assembling the cake.
• Depending on how the cakes bake, you may or may not need to level the cake layers.
• If you’d like, when frosting this cake, you can do a crumb coat to help ensure a clean and crumb-free frosting.
• To get clean slices, wipe your knife after each cut!

When you make this Fresh Peach Cake with Peach Jam Filling and Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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