This Brown Sugar Peach Cake is a classic yellow cake loaded with fresh peaches, and topped with a brown sugar caramel icing ~ it’s the dessert of the summer!
my brown sugar peach cake has lots of Southern charm
Since the highlights of this cake are the juicy fresh peaches and the Southern caramel icing, we’ll take a logical shortcut and use a good quality yellow cake mix as our base. Nobody wants to be stuck fiddling with measuring cups and spoons while everybody else is out having fun, so this just makes sense. My preferred brand? Duncan Hines.
Cake mixes are forgiving and doctoring them is easy ~ I used less liquid to account for the pound of fresh peaches we’ll be adding, and subbed peach nectar for water. No biggie.
what you’ll need for this peach cake
If you keep a yellow cake mix in the cupboard you can whip this thing up in no time. It fits in a standard 9×13 pan and it serves a crowd.
- 15-ounce yellow cake mix ~ I think Duncan Hines is best.
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- peach juice or nectar
- peaches
- butter
- cream
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- confectioner’s sugar
a cooked caramel frosting makes this peach cake extra special
The frosting is equally as easygoing, and I think you’ll be surprised to see how straightforward it is to make. I stir up some butter, brown sugar, and cream in a saucepan, just until it comes to a boil, then stir in some vanilla and powdered sugar. The whole lot gets poured right over the top of the cake.
You have to work quickly, the frosting sets up almost immediately. When you slice it into pieces you’ll get that crackled effect that signals yummy caramel. If you refrigerate the cake, the frosting will become deliciously fudge-like. Be sure to take a spoon to the pan and grab yourself a taste of the hot frosting. Nirvana!
This made a great little breakfast cake the next morning, too, the cake is not too sweet, the peaches are juicy, and the frosting, well, the frosting is amazing.
a few tweaks made this peach cake perfect!
I adapted this recipe from The Food Charlatan. The original uses 2 boxes of peach jello, which I omitted. I use fresh rather than frozen peaches, and I substitute peach nectar for the water, which gives a more natural peach flavor. The frosting I use here is the same one from one of my favorite cakes, my Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cake, it’s easy to make and delicious!
tvfgi recommends: USA Baking Pans
I love my USA 9×13 pan, it’s sturdy, nonstick, and has a great solid feel to it. USA pans have no bells and whistles, they’re just good quality, durable cookware. My cakes cook up more evenly in this aluminized steel, with no overcooked edges like I sometimes get with glass. USA makes a whole line of bakeware and I’m slowly replacing all my pans. Plus, they’re made in the USA!
more summer sheet cakes
- Mint Chocolate Chip Sheet Cake
- Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Buttercream
- Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
- Lemon Velvet Sheet Cake
- Classic Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Brown Sugar Peach Cake
Ingredients
- 15 ounce yellow cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)
- 3 large eggs or the amount specified by your cake mix
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or the amount specified by your cake mix
- 1/2 cup peach nectar or peach juice
- 1 lb peeled and chopped peaches (about 3-4)
- drop orange food coloring optional
brown sugar frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Blend together the cake mix, eggs, oil, and nectar and food coloring, if using, until well combined. Fold in the peaches and turn the batter into a lightly sprayed 9×13 pan. Bake for about 28 minutes, or until done…you can check with a toothpick, it should come out without batter clinging to it, but moist crumbs are fine.
- Put the butter, cream, and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Take off the heat at add the vanilla and the sifted sugar. Whisk until well blended and the little lumps of sugar have disappeared. Put it back on a low heat if necessary.
- Pour the frosting over the cake, trying to get it evenly coated on the first try, because it will set up quickly and you won’t be able to spread it without cracking the surface.
- Let the frosting harden at room temperature or in the refrigerator before cutting.
Nutrition
146 Comments
Kate
September 12, 2022 at 12:34 pmDo you let the cake cool completely before adding the frosting?
Sue Moran
September 12, 2022 at 1:59 pmNo, it can be warm, that’s fine.
Abby
September 2, 2022 at 9:29 pmMy family LOVED this cake. However, it was a little too moist for me (like completely soaked). I used fresh peaches and wasn’t too concerned, but it didn’t turn out how I think it’s meant to. Help? ??
Christi
August 22, 2022 at 8:17 pmI bought some fresh peaches this weekend and decided to try this recipe. Followed the exact recipe and it’s perfect! Soooo delicious! Those complaining about icing being too sweet-This is like a sheet cake icing. If that’s too sweet for you find a different recipe.
Kara
August 20, 2022 at 11:44 amThis didn’t turn out the best for me, the only change I made was to sub whole buttermilk for the cream. The frosting didn’t set up quickly when I poured it on like the recipe stated it would and most dripped down to the sides and it is all just too sweet for my taste. The cake is drowning in the frosting and is now soggy. Maybe it will taste better chilled. I know this is probably my own error due to all the other great reviews so if I make it again I’ll go buy some cream!
Kara
August 20, 2022 at 5:40 pmI had to come back and update. I tried the cake earlier when it was still warm and then tonight tried it again, it is much better once completely cool. My frosting was still not the texture I wanted but it did taste yummy!
Sue Moran
August 21, 2022 at 7:04 amThanks for that update Kara 🙂 I’m not sure why your frosting was more runny, but maybe a little less liquid next time. And I pour the frosting on the cake in the pan, so it stays on top.