If you're looking for a new way to serve up those fresh summer peaches, this is a classic recipe for Southern Peach Cobbler Pound Cake pound cake that is full of buttery flavor and the most tender crumb. It's a gorgeous cake, fancy enough for special occasions, but simple enough to make on a lazy Saturday and then enjoy with your morning coffee.
Recipe testing this cake was a real journey. I wanted to create a loaf pan recipe, which is the perfect size for entertaining in my party-of-2 household. While most peach cobbler pound cakes are twice as large and line the bottom of the bundt pan with peaches, I mix the peaches directly into the batter, then sprinkle them across the top of the cake, ensuring an even distribution through the moist cake.
The whole delicious dessert is topped with a streusel crumb topping, almond glaze and crunchy, toasty sliced almonds. It's an embarrassment of riches...and now it's all yours.
Ingredients you'll need to make this recipe:
Butter: I use salted butter in this cake and the crumble topping, so no need for additional salt in the batter. If using unsalted butter, but add a ½ teaspoon of kosher salt the batter and a pinch of salt to the crumb topping. Be sure your butter is softened before creaming it to achieve the perfect moist delicious pound cake.
Granulated sugar: our pound cake uses plain white granulated sugar in the batter. It let's the peach flavor shine! I don't recommend substituting for brown sugar.
Large eggs: to achieve the perfect dessert with this pound cake, room temperature eggs should be used in the batter. If you don't have large eggs, I rely on this chart from Better Homes and Gardens when making substitutions:
- one large egg = any other sized egg will work
- two large eggs = three small, two medium, two extra-large, or two jumbo eggs
- three large eggs = four small, three medium, three extra-large eggs, or two jumbo eggs
- four large eggs = five small, five medium, four extra-large, or three jumbo eggs
- five large eggs = seven small, six medium, five extra-large eggs, or five jumbo eggs
All purpose flour: sifted all purpose flour is what you need to make this moist pound cake. You can substitute cake flour, but skip the self-rising flour in this recipe. Measuring your flour is a key step in this recipe, use a kitchen scale, if you have it, or scoop flour with a spoon and drop into your measuring cup. Using your measuring cup to scoop out the flour will compact your measurement and create a dry cake with too much flour.
Flavored extracts: vanilla and almond create the perfect combination in this peach dessert. Skip the almond if you don't have it and use all vanilla. Keep in mind if you want to skip the vanilla and use only almond extract that almond is usually a much stronger flavor, so keep the total almond extract measurement around 1 teaspoon. If using only vanilla extract, you can go up as high as a tablespoon for a strong vanilla taste.
Peaches: I love using fresh peaches in this recipe, but I've made it with canned and drained peaches, as well. The fresh fruit adds a moisture element to this rich buttery pound cake, so draining the peaches and tossing them in flour helps mitigate any problems. We want juicy peaches, not juicy cake! I tested this cake with sliced peaches, finely diced peaches and peach chunks. I found the 1-inch chunks of peaches to create the best finished product, with good distribution, flavor and color.
Brown sugar: for our streusel topping! You can substitute white sugar, but the streusel will be crunchier and have less flavor. In this case, add a little vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon.
Powdered sugar: for our almond glaze. If you only have granulated sugar, add one cup of regular sugar to your food processor along with a teaspoon of cornstarch and blend until the mixture is a fine powder.
Cream: using cream for our glaze instead of milk creates a thick, luscious glaze instead of a thin, transparent one. Half and half is a good substitute.
Toasted almonds: sliced almonds, toasted to a golden brown, are the perfect finishing touch to this delicious cake.
Full ingredient measurements for this easy recipe included in the printable recipe card below.
How to make peach cobbler pound cake recipe:
1. Make crumble topping.
Begin by preheating the oven to 355℉. Grease and flour a loaf pan, and line with parchment across the bottom of the pan and around the sides (this makes for easy cake removal). Set aside.
In a small bowl combine ¼ cup of flour with 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar. Pour 3 tablespoons of melted butter over the dry mix and stir with a fork until crumbly and combined. Set brown sugar mixture aside.
2. Prep peaches.
Dice your peaches into 1-inch squares and leave in a strainer to drain any excess moisture. Then sift 2 cups of all purpose flour into a bowl. Measure out 1 tablespoon and sprinkle it over the peaches. Set the remaining sifted flour aside.
3. Make cake batter.
Begin making the pound cake batter by creaming your softened butter. Beat on medium-low speed with an electric mixer until the butter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Next, stream in the granulated sugar, continuing to beat the mixture on medium speed until the butter and sugar have blended nicely, another 2 minutes. The mixture will still be grainy, but not sandy and crumbly.
Add one egg at a time, continuing to beat with the electric mixer to combine each egg into the batter until the egg yolks are fully incorporated - about 20 seconds each time - scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. With the last egg, add the vanilla and almond extracts.
Next, add sifted flour to the batter. On a low setting, mix the flour just until you reach an even, homogenous batter. Over-mixing or mixing on too high a speed can create a tough cake.
Gently fold in about 1 ½ cups of the peaches into the cake batter, aiming for even distribution.
4. Bake Cake.
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Add remaining peaches across the top of the batter, using an offset spatula to smooth and even the top.
Finally, sprinkle the brown sugar butter mixture over the top of the peaches.
Bake for 85-95 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before lifting out the cake to cool to room temperature.
5. Make glaze.
While cake is baking, make the glaze to drizzle over the streusel topping. Combine powdered sugar, cream and almond extract in a small bowl. Stir until smooth.
Once cake has cooled, drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with toasted almond slices.
FAQ's and Tips:
This cake bakes up beautifully in either a tube pan (also known as an angel food cake pan) or a bundt cake pan. Just be sure to double the recipe as written below in the full recipe card. And plan to add another 15-20 minutes of bake time, but begin checking at 70 minutes.
Absolutely! If you're not in peach season, grab a large can of peaches but be sure to drain them well to remove excess moisture.
This peach pound cake recipe is very flexible when it comes to flavored extracts. I'm a huge fan of the vanilla and almond combo, but a vanilla and lemon cake would be divine, using either lemon extract of lemon zest to create a lemon pound cake. Orange zest would also be delicious.
Different pound cake recipes don't use any leavening agent (such as baking powder or baking soda), so if you don't have any available, it's okay to omit it from the recipe. Just add 3-4 minutes additional time to creaming the butter and sugar to get the batter as fluffy as possible.
Over the years, I've found several not-so-secret-secrets. Here are my top tips for the perfect peach pound cake:
Softened butter, but not too soft. Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes, and that should be enough. If it's too soft, the cake texture won't set properly.
Cream butter first, then add sugar. Especially when making a recipe without baking powder or baking soda, the creaming process adds lift to the cake. I've found that beating the butter first before adding the sugar creates a more consistent cake.
Watch your speed! Your electric hand mixer should never go above medium when making a pound cake. I know it's tempting to cut 4-5 minutes of mixing time down to 2 by cranking it up to ultra-sonic speeds, but the batter will be worse for wear. Keep it at medium speed and set your phone alarm to be sure you make your best pound cake.
Bake low and long. There's no way around it, pound cake takes forever to bake in the oven. It's worth every minute to get the right texture and crunchy topping, but you will be tempted to open your oven door 428 times in the 90 minutes your cake is baking. Resist the urge. Check through the oven door to see if you need to turn the cake for even browning, or tent with foil to slow browning. If you MUST open the door, do it quickly to keep the heat as consistent as possible.
To store, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Honestly, it's even better on day 2 or 3, so plan accordingly. If wrapped tightly, this pound cake can be frozen for up to 4 months.
Print
Southern Peach Cobbler Pound Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Ingredients
14 tablespoons butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
4 fresh peaches, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
Crumb Topping
¼ cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Glaze + topping
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 355℉. Grease and flour a loaf pan. To make removing the cake easier, line with parchment across the wide side of the pan and up the sides. Set aside.
- Dice your peaches into 1-inch squares and leave in a strainer to drain any excess moisture. Then sift flour into a bowl. Measure out 1 tablespoon and sprinkle it over the peaches. Set the remaining sifted flour aside.
- Next, cream softened butter with an electric mixer set to medium speed for 2 minutes, until the butter is light and fluffy. Stream in 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar and continue mixing on medium speed until fluffy and light colored. Add one egg at a time, beating just until the yolk is incorporated into the batter (about 20 seconds) then add the next egg. With the last egg, add vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add sifted flour into the wet ingredients and mix on medium just until combined into an even, homogenous batter. Finally, add 1 ½ cups of the flour dusted peaches and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the fruit into the batter. Scoop the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and use an offset spatula to even the top. Arrange the final ½ cup peaches over the cake, using an offset spatula to even the top. Sprinkle the brown sugar crumb topping over the peaches.
- Bake for 85-95 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before lifting out the cake to cool to room temperature.
- While cake is baking, make the glaze to drizzle over the streusel topping. Combine powdered sugar, cream and almond extract in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Once cake has cooled, drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with toasted almond slices. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or with a cup of coffee or tea.
Notes
Skip the almond if you don't have it and use all vanilla. Keep in mind if you want to skip the vanilla and use only almond extract that almond is usually a much stronger flavor, so keep the total almond extract measurement around 1 teaspoon.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 120
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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