Peach Upside Down Cake
Few desserts feel as nostalgic and comforting as a homemade Peach Upside Down Cake. With its buttery caramelized topping, tender peaches, and soft vanilla-kissed cake. This classic dessert is the perfect way to celebrate peach season—or to bring a little sunshine to your table any time of year. It’s the kind of cake that looks impressive when flipped out of the pan. Yet is wonderfully simple to make, making it ideal for both casual family dinners and special gatherings.
The magic of an upside down cake happens in the pan. A base of melted butter and brown sugar creates a rich, glossy caramel as it bakes. While the peaches soften and release their juices. When the cake is inverted, that caramelized fruit becomes a stunning topping that seeps slightly into the cake, adding moisture and flavor to every bite. Fresh peaches are ideal when they’re ripe and fragrant, but canned peaches work beautifully too, making this a reliable dessert year-round.
What makes this peach version especially lovely is the balance of flavors. The sweetness of the peaches pairs perfectly with warm vanilla and a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg. While the cake itself remains light and fluffy—not overly sweet—so the fruit truly shines. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you have a dessert that feels both homey and elegant.
This Peach Upside Down Cake is best enjoyed slightly warm, when the caramelized peaches are soft and luscious. It’s a timeless dessert that never fails to impress—it’s sure to become a favorite in your recipe collection.
Peach Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
TOPPING
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 6 fresh peaches-sliced or canned
CAKE
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 12 tbsp butter-room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
TOPPING
- Place a 9" cake pan on your stovetop over low heat. Add butter and melt, whisk in sugar and cinnamon until it starts to bubble. Whisk in bourbon, stir for 15 seconds and then turn off heat. Let it sit while making the cake.
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350'
- Add butter to mixer bowl and beat on medium until creamy. Beat in sugar and gradually increase the mixer speed to high. Beat until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, about 3 minutes. beat in eggs 1 at a time until well incorporated. Beat in vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Arrange the peach slices on top of the topping mixture in the cake pan. crowd the pan placing them as close together as you can. place dollops of batter all over the pan and spread it to completely cover the peaches.
- Place a baking sheet under the cake pan to catch any overflow. Bake the cake for 40 minutes and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for only 5 minutes. Run a knife along the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a plate on top of the cake pan and carefully turn over the cakepan.
- Fix any pieces of peaches on the cake that are stuck in the bottom of the cake pan. Let the cake cool completely before serving it. Serve it with whipped cream if desired.