This Peach Coffee Cake is dense, yet extremely moist, laced with fresh peaches and complete with crunchy crumbs of cinnamon streusel topping. I guarantee you’ll look forward to your morning alarm.
Peach is one of my absolute favorite summer fruits and coffee cake is one of my absolute favorite morning treats. This tangy, creamy peach coffee cake combines my two loves into the perfect slice of peach cake.
So next time you’re at the farmer’s market, make sure to pick up a few ripe peaches for this peach coffee cake recipe. Make sure they are firm with a little give when squeezed gently, and they should smell sweet and peachy, those are the sure signs of ripe peaches.
How to make Peach Coffee Cake
Cinnamon streusel topping
First, you’ll need to make the cinnamon streusel topping, very similar to the one on top of this Blueberry Coffee Cake. This streusel topping is a mixture of flour, sugar, and butter with plenty of cinnamon for a warm flavor.
Making cinnamon streusel (Photos 1 – 3)
- Whisk together flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.
- Add cold cubed butter and pinch it together with your fingers or use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture.
- When the mixture resembles coarse crumbs or slightly wet sand, it is ready to go in the fridge or freezer while you make the cake batter.
The easy peach cake batter
Making peach cake batter (Photos 4 – 9)
- Pour hot melted butter over the room temperature cream cheese and beat until smooth.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, beat until smooth again.
- In another bowl, sift flour and baking powder together. Stir in the sugar and kosher salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients mixture.
- Fold until a batter forms.
- Fold in the chopped peaches.
- Transfer to a lined cake pan and sprinkle streusel on top.
Do I have to peel the peaches?
You can but you don’t have to peel the peaches for this cake. Peach skin is very soft and you won’t be able to tell the difference either way.
Can I use frozen or canned peaches?
Yes, but note that frozen and canned peaches will release more water so you may want to increase the amount of flour called for in this recipe by a tad (2 tablespoons to ¼ cup).
➤ Note on canned peaches: make sure to pat the canned peaches dry before mixing into the batter to get rid of excess moisture. 1 cup of canned peaches will yield more peaches than fresh, so you may also want to weigh it to be exact or use a tad less than 1 cup. Gram measurements are provided in the recipe card.
➤ Note on frozen peaches: use the peaches in their frozen state, you don’t need to thaw.
What can I substitute cream cheese with?
Cream cheese gives this peach coffee cake its dense and moist texture. You will miss out on its tangy flavor if you decide to forgo the cream cheese. But here are a couple great substitutions:
- Mascarpone is an excellent substitution for cream cheese, and works well in cake batter like this Mascarpone Mixed Berry Cake. It will give the cake a milder flavor.
- Ricotta could also work as a substitution. However, ricotta is much higher in water content than cream cheese, around 75% vs. 55% in cream cheese. So if you’re using ricotta, reduce the amount of cheese by ¾, or just use 6 oz in this recipe.
Can I use a different fruit filling?
Absolutely! Feel free to substitute different types of berries, a mixture of mango and peach like in this Tropical Cake, or apples like in this Apple Coffee Cake.
Baker’s Tips
Do I need a stand mixer to make this peach coffee cake?
The first time I made this cake, I used a stand mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese together. But since then, I’ve modified the recipe so that you don’t need to use a stand mixer anymore.
Pouring the hot melted butter straight into the cream cheese will help soften it further and make it very easy to mix, even with just a hand whisk.
What pan can I bake this peach cake in?
I have personally baked this cake in the following cake pan:
I think a 9” Pie Dish or a 9” Cast Iron Skillet will work just as well.
➤ If you want to remove this cake entirely from the pan after baking to place it on a cake stand or pretty serving plate for brunch, you’ll need to:
- Either use a springform cake pan, make sure to place this on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven as the springform pan tends to leak.
- Or make sure to line the bottom of your baking vessel with a long piece of parchment paper and allow the excess to drape over the sides, so you can use it as handles to lift the cake out.
My cake is too dense, what did I do wrong?
- Did you mismeasure the flour? If you don’t have enough flour, the cake batter can be too wet and become too dense. Gram measurements are provided in the recipe card if you decide to use a kitchen scale.
- Did you use too much peach filling? Ripe peaches can add excess moisture to the cake batter.
- Did you substitute frozen or canned peaches? These will release more moisture when baked and can create an extra dense cake. Increase the amount of flour in this case or reduce the amount of filling. See tips for baking with frozen or canned peaches above.
Storage
How long does peach coffee cake last?
This cake will keep at room temperature for 1 – 2 days. Beyond that, you should refrigerate it or it will go bad. Refrigerated cake will last up to a week.
Can I freeze peach coffee cake?
Yes, certainly! To freeze, divide the coffee cake into individual portions first, wrap well and place them in a freezer bag. They will last up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature before serving.
How to serve peach cake
This peach cake recipe will yield 8 generous portions or 10 smaller ones. You can serve it warm the day of, or cold from the fridge. If you like warm cake the next day, heat it in the microwave for 10 – 20 seconds. Serve it with:
- Iced Coffee for breakfast
- Matcha Latte for tea time
- A scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream or Mascarpone Ice Cream on top as dessert
No matter how you slice it or dice it, this delicious peach cake is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet cravings any time of the day!
More peach recipes
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, send me a photo, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!
📖 Recipe card
Peach Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon streusel
- 6 tablespoon all-purpose flour (50 g)
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar (74 g)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ oz unsalted butter (cold & cubed, 42 g)
Cake batter
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (172 g)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (127 g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- 2 ½ oz unsalted butter (melted, still hot, 71 g)
- 2 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup diced ripe peach (150 g, about 1 medium peach)
- Extra melted butter or nonstick spray for pan
Instructions
- To make the streusel, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, mix together thoroughly with a whisk. Cut the cold butter (1.5 oz) into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter or pinch the butter with your fingers into the dry mixture until coarse crumbs form. Cover and refrigerate (or freeze) until ready to use.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Brush a 9” cake pan or an 8”x8” square baking pan with some melted butter or spray with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper, and butter or spray the parchment paper as well. Set the pan aside.
- Wash and dice the peach into bite size pieces.
- Melt 2.5 oz of butter in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Pour the still hot melted butter over the cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla extract, and continue whisking until completely smooth.
- In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add sugar, and kosher salt, mix together thoroughly with a whisk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients mixture. Fold with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the diced peaches.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Use the spatula to distribute the batter evenly and create a flat surface. Sprinkle the cold streusel over the top evenly.
- Bake for 40 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack until cool enough to handle before unmolding the cake.
Notes
- You can use peeled or unpeeled peaches for this recipe.
- You can substitute cream cheese with mascarpone or ricotta. If using ricotta, reduce to 6 oz to compensate for the higher water content in the cheese.
- Make sure to keep the streusel refrigerated or in the freezer while making the cake batter so it doesn’t melt.
- This cake can be baked in a 9” springform pan or equivalent size cake pan, pie dish, cast iron skillet, and even an 8”x8” square baking pan.
- If not using a springform pan, make sure to line the bottom of your baking vessel with a long piece of parchment paper and allow the excess to drape over the sides, which will allow you to lift the cake out once baked if desired.
- This cake will keep at room temperature for 1 - 2 days. Beyond that, keep refrigerated.
- You can reheat a slice in the microwave for 10 - 20 seconds if desired.
- Refer to the post for more troubleshooting tips and FAQs.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on 7/20/2017. The post has been updated and republished on 6/30/2020 with the latest improvements, and extra tips to help you in the kitchen.
Your Family Will LOVE These Cakes!
Amazing! My 9 yo and I baked this together today and the entire family loved it! So moist and the perfect combination of flavors. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I love peaches and I love coffee bake and so I made this yesterday but I don’t think it came out right. Texture is more like bread pudding; there is almost no discernible crumb. In terms of it’s shape, it’s more of a flat disk, no nice domed top. (That said, it does taste really good.) Can you tell me what might have gone wrong? Overbeat? Not enough baking powder? Too much moisture from the peaches? Would love your thoughts! (And I love your blog!)
Hey Mitra, this coffee cake is quite dense but it shouldn’t be like bread pudding, there should be some crumbs but not fluffy like a typical cake. It rises but does not dome because the streusel weights down the top. If your cake is soggy wet, so dense it looks like a brick of pudding, then I would say something is wrong. If it’s dense but still spongy, soft and moist, then it’s perfect.
1. Over beating can do it, did you use the mixer to incorporate the dry ingredients? Folding with a spatula is better to incorporate the dry ingredients.
2. Too much baking powder can also make the cake rise too much and then fall.
3. Maybe peaches are super juicy? You could try increasing the flour a bit.
4. Another thing is flour measurement could be a little off depending on whether you pack the cup or fluff the flour before you measure. For this recipe, I did not sift or fluff the flour, I scoop directly from the jar and level. I’m trying to combat this issue by giving gram measurements in newer recipes and when I go back to update older ones.
I hope these help. Thank you for your nice comment. I appreciate it! And I’m always here if you have any questions at all.
Can i use canned peaches?
I’ve never tried with canned peaches but I think it will work. Make sure you drain the peaches well, pat it with a paper towel to get them as dry as possible so you don’t add too much liquid to the batter. Let me know how it turns out, would love to know!
Thx..i will!
This is one of my favourite cakes of yours. Thank you 🙂
Thanks Marie!
This looks like the perfect cake to have with a cup of tea and that streusel!!
It’s mid summer and I have yet had a fresh ripen-off-the -tree peach. Can’t wait to get one from my local farm stand soon. This coffee cake looks delicious!! I love your use of peach—it’s perfect for the season.
Thank you so much for stopping by Thao! If you don’t have any ripe peach yet, you can use another stone fruit like plum. I think it would be delicious still. 🙂
Why have I never thought to try this before!? Looks SO good- such a fun summer twist on coffee cake!
Thanks Karly! This is such an easy recipe and so good too. I hope you try it 🙂