Butter Pecan Peach Cake is a Southern style coffee cake loaded with pecans and juicy Georgia peaches topped with a buttery pecan crumble. Yum!
How can you possibly resist any dessert called a butter pecan peach cake? Every step of the way from slicing my peaches to sliding the cake out of the oven I was confident this epic summer cake was going to be amazing. For one, the recipe details are based on a Great Island kitchen fan favorite, Irish Apple Cake. For another ~ juicy peaches, brown sugar buttermilk cake, buttery pecan crumble topping ~ ‘nuf said. This is a Southern style summer treat I predict you’ll be baking for years to come.
The Georgia Peach Truck made a visit to town this week, along with loads of Southern pecans. What’s a girl to do with all that bounty except make pecan peach cake? I’ll also be making my Easy Peach Butter, I make that every year, and if I have any leftover I’ll bake up a few loaves of Easy Spiced Peach Bread. Or… maybe I’ll just freeze up some Ripe Peach Popsicles!
pecan peach cake ingredient overview
Besides baking basics like flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder you’ll need:
- peaches
- you’ll want about a pound. I peel my peaches, you don’t have to.
- lemon juice
- a small squeeze of lemon juice prevents any browning in the peaches and also brightens their flavor.
- brown sugar
- one of the star flavors in this cake.
- pecans
- lots of chopped pecans in the cake and the crumble topping.
- vanilla bean paste
- you can use vanilla extract but I highly recommend vanilla bean paste, the flavor is so much more aromatic and intense.
- cinnamon
a springform pan is a baking essential
I like to use a 9″ springform pan for cakes like this where I want to remove them from the pan for serving and slicing, and a springform pan makes that so easy. It would be impossible to turn a cake like this butter pecan peach cake out of a standard cake pan. Even if you never make cheesecakes this pan comes in super handy for lots of desserts from my Lemon Olive Oil Cake to my Norwegian Rhubarb and Almond Cake.
The minute I took the cake out of the oven I couldn’t resist getting right down to cake level to inhale the aroma of bubbling peach juice with the caramel-y brown sugar, toasted pecans, and vanilla bean. This cake definitely scores high on the aroma scale!
My first taste confirmed it, this cake is destined to become a fan favorite just like my Irish Apple Cake, the inspiration recipe. This is a lovely cake, I think you’ll be so happy with it.
vary up your butter pecan peach cake
GLUTEN FREE? Use a good quality gluten free baking mix like one from Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour, for example.
WHAT ABOUT ANOTHER FRUIT? Sure, use berries, plums, apricots…even bananas! Or add a few raspberries or blueberries to the peaches.
NUT FREE? You can leave them out, with no other adjustments.
CAN YOU USE FROZEN PEACHES? Yes, I would thaw and drain excess juice before using.
WHAT ABOUT CANNED PEACHES? Not my first choice, but try to use peaches in juice, not syrup, and drain them.
BAKE IN A 9″ CAST IRON SKILLET for a rustic Southern style presentation.
FREEZING BUTTER PECAN PEACH CAKE: After complete cooling, wrap in plastic and again in foil. Plan to use within 3 months.
more summer peach recipes!
- Ripe Peach Popsicles
- 20 peach recipes you need right now!
- peach prosciutto & ricotta crostini
- Fresh Peach Lemonade
- Spiced Peach Muffins
- Easy Peach Butter
- Easy Peach Cobbler
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Butter Pecan Peach Cake
Equipment
- 9 inch springform pan you can buy the one I use here.
Ingredients
cake
- 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup golden brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature if possible
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste, you can also use vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp cultured buttermilk, you can also use whole milk or half and half.
- 2 large peaches, peeled and sliced
- squeeze of lemon juice
streusel topping
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut in small pieces
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup golden brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
- To make the streusel topping, blend the bits of butter into the flour, sugar, and nuts until the butter is incorporated and the mixture has a coarse crumbly texture. I do this in my food processor. Put in the refrigerator.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla.
- Peel and slice the peaches and sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nuts. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture, along with the buttermilk.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan, and smooth out evenly. Top with the sliced peaches, and then the streusel topping. Note: no need to arrange the peaches perfectly, but try to get them in an even layer.
- Bake for about 50 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it (moist crumbs are ok!)
- Let cool a bit in the pan before removing. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
This was really good. I forgot to add the pecans to the batter but did get them in the topping. I only cut up 2 peaches which were large ones but wished I had cut up 3 as 2 was a bit skimpy. Would make again.
Thanks so much Janice!
If I used frozen peaches, how much should I use?
I would use the prep photo of the cake as your guide, you’ll want a good layer of peach slices over the top of the batter. It looks like I used somewhere around 25-30 slices, but your frozen slices might be thicker and you might need less.
This recipe is a treat! It’s easy to follow and results in the perfect summer cake. A wonderful combination of peaches and pecans. Thank you!
I love pecans so couldn’t wait to try this and it was so good! Going to be making it all summer!
For me it’s that combination of pecans and peaches that makes this so good ~ glad you loved it, thanks for the review!
This was just increcible!!
This was the perfect summer cake!! It was packed with peach flavor and the crumble topping had great texture and sweetness. We loved it!
Oh!!!! That looks lush! Can’t wait to try it.
If baking in a cast iron skillet, would you butter it before adding mixture to skillet?
Yes, definitely.
Just made it! Turned out great. I used turbinado sugar for the topping, and even sprinkled a little extra on top, put under broiler for a couple minutes at the end
Yay, thanks for letting us know Yelena!
You mention using vanilla paste but I don’t see vanilla used in the recipe. Do we use vanilla, if so how much and in the cake or topping?
It’s in there now, add it after beating in the eggs. Thanks for spotting!