“I made this Peach Buckle last night. So simple, so very yummy!!! I will be trying it with some fresh berries next. Thank you so much for such a great recipe!” ~Audrey
One of the great things about this peach buckle is that it’s such an easy recipe to throw together. I think that’s because it’s an old recipe that goes way back to when treats were more utilitarian than fancy. This is a dessert that you might actually call wholesome, and in fact I don’t really consider it a dessert at all, we love it for breakfast 🙂
Of course you can’t eat your delicious buckle all by itself without anything, but I chose to whip up a tangy topping made by whipping equal parts sour cream and heavy cream. The result is thick, rich, but not too sweet. Perfect.
You can slice up this rustic peach buckle like a pie, or in neat squares if you like, but why?
I like to scoop out the warm cake with a big spoon, it seems more homey that way. The edges get nice and crisp and the center stays soft and juicy. So. Good.
Why I don’t peel my peaches
If you read this blog you’ve probably heard this before, but I like to leave the peel on fruits and veggies as often as possible because there’s flavor, color, and nutrition in there.
The next time you bite into a peach, pay close attention, you’ll realize that most of that classic ‘peach’ flavor is coming from, you guessed it…the peel!
Why go to the trouble and extra step of peeling when there’s no need? Using the peel means this easy recipe comes together in a flash. Just the way it should be.
As this peach buckle heads into the stove you just know it’s going to be good. Those gorgeous slices of peach float on top of a silky buttermilk batter with rivulets of sweet melted butter around the edges of the cast iron skillet. I always put a baking sheet underneath in case the batter overflows its banks, but it never does. The cake puffs up perfectly and turns golden every time.
Note: the first time I tested this recipe it was delicious but none of the peaches showed at the top after it baked, the cake engulfed them completely. The second time I made sure to mound the peaches in a few spots instead of arranging them evenly, and that worked so that there were visible peaches on the surface of my baked buckle. A small but important detail.
This type of old fashioned fruit bake has stood the test of time because it just makes sense. Whether you call it a buckle, a cobbler, a grunt, slump, pandowdy, or a Betty, the concept is similar: fresh fruit under or on top of a loose batter or dough, no fussy rolling required.
I love to bake my buckle up and serve it right from my cast iron skillet, it just adds to the rustic charm.
This is one treat you don’t have to let cool before eating. Pull it out of the oven, scoop up a serving, and top with your choice of something creamy ~ it could be the whipped sour cream I made, or whipped yogurt, whipped cream, creme fraiche, or just a drizzle of heavy cream or cultured buttermilk. A scoop of ice cream wouldn’t be out of the question.
a few peach buckle variations
- Use apricots or any other stone fruit…plums are amazing. Berries, too.
- Change out the flour for a gluten free baking mix, or try some whole grain wheat or buckwheat flour blended with the AP flour.
- Add sliced almonds to the top before baking.
- Change out the flavoring to vanilla.
- Bake this in a regular 9 inch square or round cake pan.
Peach Buckle
Video
Equipment
- 10" cast iron skillet or other oven ready 10" skillet
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (about a pound)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp almond extract
whipped sour cream topping
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Put the peaches in a bowl and sprinkle them with the granulated sugar. Let sit.
- In your main mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Try to get out any large lumps in the sugar.
- Whisk the egg and buttermilk together and add it to the bowl, along with the melted butter and extract. Whisk to combine, but don’t over beat.
- Melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet.
- Off the heat, pour the batter into the skillet, and then top with the peach slices (along with any juices.) You can sprinkle the top with raw or sanding sugar if you like.
- Bake in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes until golden and set. Cover loosely with foil toward the end of cooking if the top seems to be browning too quickly. You can do a toothpick test if you like, but keep in mind that a buckle, like a brownie, is best when moist inside and not over baked.
- Serve warm with topping of your choice.
- To make the whipped sour cream topping, whip the sour cream, heavy cream, and sugar until it holds soft peaks.
Notes
Nutrition
There are so many ways to enjoy summer peaches
My White Peach Frangipane Galette looks fancy but is a breeze to put together, so be sure to save a couple of peaches for this lovely dessert ~ get the recipe HERE.
My Peach Cobbler with Cinnamon Swirl Biscuits is one of my favorite desserts on the blog! Get the recipe HERE.
You haven’t really done summer until you’ve made a Fresh Peach Shortcake. Seriously, just do it. Find the recipe HERE.
Delicate and delicious, my White Peach Crumble Bars can be made with any summer stone fruit. Find the recipe HERE.
I made this Peach Buckle last night. So simple, so very yummy!!! I will be trying it with some fresh berries next. Thank you so much for such a great recipe!
Excellent recipe!
Hi there. Is it possible to use frozen peaches? I still have some frozen from last summers harvest. This sounds marvelous. Thank you for the recipe.
Yes, frozen work great!
Can I make this in a 12″ cast iron pan? or do I need to tweak the volume of ingredients a bit?
You would need to increase the batter I’m afraid, because it’s not very deep to begin with.
Oh my goodness. I impulse purchased a box of nectarines from Trader Joe’s cause I go so excited to return my favorite fruit I forgot that my kids don’t live at home anymore! So I went looking on Pinterest for the perfect recipe to try and am so glad I found yours because this is going in my cookbook!!! My cast iron skillet is slightly larger so I did a 1.5 recipe conversion. I took a bit longer to cook since I made the recipe larger but it came out perfectly. I don’t care for cake because it is too wet. This was the right amount of sweetness and the almond and the salty butter that caramelized on top were a perfect flavor combo. Thanks!!!!
I was tempted by those nectarines too 🙂 Now I know what to do with them! Thanks Ruthie.
Can you use canned peaches? I have so many I canned last summer.
Yes, home canned peaches would work great.
WOW! This Peach Buckle deserves more than 5 stars. I LOVED the Almond flavoring and am definitely going to make this again, which will be in a couple of days for some friends joining us this Labor Day Holiday. My friend went nuts over it as well and just pinned the recipe to her board. I served it warm (made it earlier in the day) up with a large scoop of locally made Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream. It was heavenly. Thank you from the Pacific Northwest!
You’re making my mouth water 🙂
This came
Out amazing I followed the recipe exactly, I used fresh picked peaches and blueberries I picked a few days ago. Stole a little piece while it was warm and it tasted amazing! I cannot wait to put a scoop of vanilla ice cream
On top!
In one of your other dessert recipes you substituted Half-and-Half for the Buttermilk. Could that same substitution be done in this recipe? We don’t use Buttermilk. If not Half-and-Half, is there another substitution that could be made? Would like to make this for brunch tomorrow.
Sue, guessing you haven’t seen this inquiry, which we sent to you this morning. Need to go shopping for tomorrow’s brunch. We’ll have to dream up something else to make. Sure was hoping to surprise everyone with your Peach Buckle.
Sorry to miss this Carolyn, you can definitely use half and half!
One look at your picture persuaded me to give this recipe a try. I’m glad I did!! The entire cake was devoured within minutes. I served it with vanilla bean ice cream but the last few bites were scraped from the cast iron. The only twist I made was I added a few strawberries to the recipe and the combination of flavors and colors worked wonderfully. Thank you for the recipe.
The strawberries must have been gorgeous!