A friend asked me last week how long it takes to get a recipe right. I told him the only answer I know: As long as it takes. I’d like to be someone who could “adjust my expectations,” make peace with “close enough,” or have the slightest amount of chill when it’s clear that whatever I’m trying to do isn’t something I can pull off, but we’re wired how we’re wired.
So, in the interest of full transparency, I’ve been trying to get this exact recipe right for the last six summers, and honestly, it’s a crime how many peaches have been surrendered to versions that came up short. Each stone fruit season, I tinkered and took copious notes — mostly variations on “this wasn’t it.” Diced peaches were somehow bland. Thinly-sliced ones disappeared entirely. Spices in the batter made the whole thing beige without making it any more flavorful. Eventually, I’d be at an impasse and fold my cards for the season.
It took forever because I wanted several things from it, and I couldn’t let any of them go:
- I wanted a one-bowl cake, like my other favorite loaves. [See: Pumpkin, Banana, Zucchini, and Blueberry.] Ultimately, I accepted defeat on this, and this alone. (But you know I’m not over it.)
- I wanted it to star big, chunky wedges of pie-like peaches — that is, spiced, fragrant, baked until tender and juicy — embedded and suspended throughout.
- I wanted it to look like a peach crumble on top, with visible baked peaches lightly buckled into the cake beneath a mess of streusel.
- And finally, because neat, rule-following baked goods are overrated — as are squat loaves that don’t fill out the pan — I liked it best when this cake looked a little chaotic. Teetering on, and occasionally slightly over, the edge feels a bit like my mental state on this 945th day of summer break (but who’s counting?). So if this cake looks a little messy, well, so am I.
I know we’re about two minutes from the end of peach season, but the cake doesn’t care. It’s ready, and I humbly think it’s worth the wait.
Video
Peach Cobbler Loaf
- 1¼ pounds (565 grams) peaches, pitted (no need to peel); each peach cut into 8 wedges
- Finely grated zest and juice from half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup (72 grams) plus 1 tablespoon (15 grams) light brown sugar, divided
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
- 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) plain unsweetened Greek-style yogurt or sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1⅓ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour
Cake
Streusel
Prepare the cake: Finely grate the lemon zest into a large bowl and set aside. Place peach wedges in a medium bowl and squeeze the juice of the lemon half over it. Add cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar and stir to coat. Set aside.
Add 6 tablespoons melted butter to the larger bowl (with the zest in it), along with granulated sugar (1/3 cup) and remaining (1/3 cup) brown sugar; whisk to combine. Add yogurt or sour cream and mix. Add eggs and beat to combine. Sprinkle the surface of the batter with baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk thoroughly to combine, giving it a few extra stirs to make sure it’s mixed well. Add the flour (1⅓ cups) and stir until it disappears.
Make the streusel: Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl. Stir in remaining granulated sugar (2 tablespoons) and pinch of salt, then remaining flour (¼ cup) until crumbs form.
Assemble the cake: Pour half of cake batter in your prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Arrange half of peaches on the batter in one layer. Spoon remaining batter over and spread it evenly. Arrange remaining peaches on top of the batter, then pour any juices collected in the bowl over the peaches. Sprinkle peaches with streusel.
Bake the cake: Place your prepared pan on a baking sheet (if you ignored me the first time, as I would have) and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake and also a few times under the top peach layer (where unbaked batter likes to collect) comes out clean. It might need up to 5 minutes longer. Let cool on a rack.
To serve: Run a knife along any sides of the cake that aren’t lined with parchment and use the parchment paper to lift it out of the loaf pan. Cut into thick slices.
Do ahead: This cake is very good on the first day but honestly even better on the second and third, if you’re planning ahead. I store it in the pan at room temperature, unwrapped (but often tuck it inside the microwave or oven as a kind of makeshift bread box) because I want the top to keep its texture.
Previously
6 months ago: Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
1 year ago: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
2 years ago: Napa Cabbage Wedge with Miso Dressing
3 years ago: Corn Cacio e Pepe
4 years ago: Corn Butter Farro
5 years ago: Baked Farro with Summer Vegetables
6 years ago: Mathilde’s Tomato Tart
7 years ago: Black Pepper Tofu and Eggplant
8 years ago: Foccacia Sandwiches for a Crowd
9 years ago: Blackberry-Blueberry Crumb Pie
10 years ago: Summer Squash Pizza, Peach Melba Popsicles, and Chile-Lime Melon Salad
11 years ago: Raspberry Crushed Ice
12 years ago: Cold Noodles with Miso, Lime, and Ginger and Apricot Pistachio Squares
13 years ago: Charred Corn Crepes, Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini and Strawberry, Lime, and Black Pepper Popsicles
14 years ago: Pink Lemonade Bars and Charred Pepper Steak Sauce
15 years ago: Sugar Plum Crepes with Ricotta and Honey
16 years ago: Everyday Chocolate Cake and Zucchini and Almond Pasta Salad
17 years ago: Cantaloupe Salsa and Plum Kuchen and Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad
18 years ago: Huevos Rancheros, Blueberry Crumb Bars and Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
19 years ago: Quick Zucchini Sauté
20! years! ago! Moules Frites
I can’t WAIT to make this loaf! I just ran into a friend at our local farmstead and he saw my purchases and said “MORE peaches Sally?”
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MAZEL to 20 years! I’ve been with you for most of that time, and it’s a treat (literally) to make your recipes, and read my comments from so many years ago!
ps – the best peach dish I’ve ever made: your peach dumplings from the OG SK cookbook, with half the pie crust – spectacular. One of my friends said it was in the top 3 things she’s ever eaten (and I agree!)
Hard agree on this. My wife just asked me to make them before the end of peach season. I think I really have to do it now!
Today I was looking at all the peaches that I can’t stop buying on my counter wondering, “what am I going to do with you?” And then you posted this- I have been following you for years and now I know for certain we are psychically linked. Thank you! Making this later….
We just finished canning our peaches. We’ve been growing them for a few years, and this year the trees were overflowing!
Can I use the canned peaches here?
Assistant Amanda here while Deb is on vacation! She’s never worked with canned peaches, but if canned from a store, probably no. Canned at home might work, though they might be too wet. She couldn’t say for sure without testing them.
Would it be possible to make this in a round cake pan? Do you have a sense of how much I’d need to adjust the baking time? Thank you!!
I am so excited to make this! However I have a question – I am confused. I have noticed in your recipes that you sprinkle the baking soda, powder, flour, over the wet ingredients – and I’ve always thought you were supposed to mix the dry ingredients together and then add them together? thanks for everything – you are the BEST!
You want baking soda and baking powder to be well distributed in the final cake mixture. You can mix them with the flour beforehand but that is one extra bowl to clean.
If you do this in two separate steps, you can mix each ingredient the right amount and you don’t use one extra bowl: Go 10 seconds longer than you think with baking powder and baking soda, but mix flour just enough.
This technique is for 1 bowl cakes. Your technique is for 2 bowl cakes: 1 wet, 1 dry.
This is why Deb’s recipes also usually ask for you to whisk thoroughly or stir for 1 minute. You have to make sure it’s all blended and not clumped, but the reward is 1 less bowl to wash. Flour added at the end prevents overmixing and making the cake tough.
I asked this question at a class at the King Arthur baking school because I’d noticed this change in directions in many places. The answer was that a) in smaller recipes (like those in home kitchens), the ingredients distribute just fine before adding the flour, and b) in a lot of recipes, adding the baking soda/baking powder to the wet ingredients actually activates them before adding to the heat of the oven and you get better results. Science!
I don’t have a dishwasher and absolutely don’t mind multiple bowls, especially for something like this!
Peach season ended for me, however, I froze some 2 weeks ago. Could I use the frozen peaches?
I’d like to know the answer to this also.
I just made the recipe with frozen peaches. (Adjusted the recipe to fit a 9×13 pan as I was baking for a large group). I let them thaw very slightly to separate the pieces and so they would spread over the batter. I added a very light dusting of flour to the peaches, tossing gently. Used the convection setting and turned the oven down to 325 degrees for a slower bake due to the higher moisture content as the peaches thawed and for the larger pan. It turned out great – moist and not soggy, with a lovely layer of peaches dotted through the cake.
Thank you, Freebird, this was my question also – glad to know it can work. How do you measure the frozen peaches – would it be the same weight as fresh peaches or a little less? How much longer did you bake it?
I have the same questions regarding the use of frozen peaches.
Hello – I used homegrown donut peaches that I thawed from the freezer. There was a lot of peach liquid due to thawing. Even though I accidentally omitted the greek yogurt in the batter, it was probably a good thing since the extra peach juice more than made up for it. I baked this for around 90 min. in a convection toaster oven at 320 degrees (60 min), then raised to 330 degrees (15min), then raised to 350 degrees (15 min). It turned out great. Both husband and son approved. Hope this helps.
Would this work with plums instead of peaches?
I’m planning on using plums! I see no reason why it wouldn’t work.
Is the peach weight before or after pitting?
Before, but in this case it would not matter.
* Professionally written recipes will give you ingredient treatments in order. So, 1.25 lbs peaches, pitted and cut into eighths, means weigh, pit, cut. Likewise (for instance) 8 lbs. carrots, peeled and shredded, means weigh, peel, shred while 8 cups peeled, chopped carrots, means peel, chop, measure. This does not necessarily apply to every recipe your great uncle jotted down on a grocery receipt nor to recipes posted by less reliable sources on the web. But professionally developed and/or edited recipes will follow this approach or will tell you explicitly to do something else.
* For grins, I weighed the pits (peach stones) when I made the recipe. Came to 8/10 of an ounce or 21.5 grams. Would not make any difference in the volume of peaches in the cake.
Bake and be happy!
I have been cooking for decades and never considered this. Thank you for this incredibly clear articulation!
I would also like to know the answer to this
I think I actually drooled when I saw the title and photo!
Have you ever tried adding blueberries in?
Peaches and blueberries play so beautifully together – I think this is a great idea!
Dare I ask if frozen peaches can be used in this recipe? Frozen or thawed??
Using the microwave as an ad hoc bread box?! You’re a genius, Deb.
Hey Deb! I love your work. When will the best of Smitten Kitchen category be updated? How do you decide what to add? Thank you 💕
How ripe were your peaches, by in turn how ripe should the peaches be in your opinion? A day or two out? Only perfectly ripe? A day or so past?
I would also like to know this!
Ok, so I dove in…I used perfectly ripe peaches and it was fantastic! Upon tasting a day or two early peaches would be fine as they soften when they bake of course. I would think past ripe peaches would be a bit too mushy, but that is my preference on fruit texture talking.
Would this work with GF flour?
I would love to know the answer to this as well. I am a formerly avid baker and was recently diagnosed with Celiac’s. I am so sad about that, and so are all of my friends with whom I used to share my baked goods. Learning the correct combinations and swaps for successful baking has been really difficult.
Check out 2 cookbooks by Blackbird bakery. She created GF flour mixes for specific things. A bread mix, a cake mix, a cookie mix, etc. they each have different ratios of gf flours
Have you found The Loopy Whisk blog? The writer is a food science nerd and she has really got gluten-free figured out!
I have so far had fantastic results modifying SK’s quick bread recipes using the techniques described in the Elements of Baking (book from the Loopy Whisk)! Still need to try this one, though…. ;)
Assistant Amanda here while Deb is on vacation! Deb hasn’t tested this recipe with GF flour, but in the past, other readers have had success in similar recipes with Bob’s Red Mill flour in a 1:1 swap.
Thank you so much to all of the suggestions for gluten free sources!
The way the peaches are suspended throughout! Stunning!
I’m glad 20 years is now included! I’ve been watching since the anniversary of Freedom, Ringing…
The sweetest, most heartfelt congratulations on turning twenty. I’ve raised my family on your recipes — every birthday, picnic, holiday, bake sale, dinner party, potluck, snow day, roadtrip…I’ll never be able to express what I owe you for your practical and poetic approach to food. Here’s to another twenty! Now off to the peach stand.
The loaf is currently cooling and my family can’t wait to cut it open, it smells great! A couple of notes, the edges of my loaf got *quite* brown (my daughter would say burnt), I’m guessing because of some delicious sugary peach juice bubbling there. It was nothing a piece of foil over the top couldn’t prevent had I caught it sooner. In hindsight I might have baked it lower in the oven, rather than near the middle. Also, my streusel didn’t streusel – I added more flour until crumbs formed, guessing it was user error but I think my measurements were correct – just a heads up!
Mine is in the oven right now and I had the exact same issues with the streusel! Had to add about another 1/4 cup of flour to get it to the right consistency. I also found it wasn’t a lot of batter, considering all the warnings about pan size, baking sheet under it, etc. I used a slightly bigger loaf pan, and barely had enough to cover the bottom with half the batter, and then STRUGGLED to get it to cover the first peach layer with the rest.
And I just took it out of the oven, and mine is also quite dark around the edges! Definitely think it’s the sauces from the bottom of the peach bowl.
I also had issues with the measurements for the streusel. Similarly added another 1/4 cup flour (total 1/2 cup) to the melted butter and sugar to get it to form crumbs.
Mine is in the oven now (and I will watch for browning edges, thank you). When I mixed the streusel in a bowl it seemed more like a paste than crumbs, but when I pinched it, it was happy to scatter in crumb form. So I used the measurements as written and it seemed promising.
I think melting the butter is the issue. I’ve only ever made streusel with solid butter – that’s what makes the crumb. When it’s melted, it just turns into a batter/dough. I first followed the directions and melted it, and it didn’t streusel. Redid with the same quantities but rubbed the flour/sugar into cold butter bits and then it formed a streusel.
I had the same streusel issue! I thought it was because I decided to use half oat flour for the streusel for flavor, but good to know it wasn’t just me. I also added about 1/4 cup more. Mine has 30 minutes left and I’m going to add foil per the advice here with 20 to go!
I had the same issue with the streusel; it formed a paste! Thinking it was an error on my part, I remade it only to make a paste once again. I then used a different streusel recipe. Deb, can you please weigh in? Thanks!
The streusel is intended to be soft, not thick like the crumbs used for a crumble or crumb cake. The reason is that we want it to stick to the top of the peaches and cake well, not easily fall off. It helps lock them in. I’ll have a video shortly.
Thank you Deb!!! 💛 We loved the loaf and will be making it again.
I made this precisely to the letter of the recipe, with one exception: I hadn’t read the comments yet, and I also got confused about the paste-like consistency of the streusel, so I added some flour to create more crumb. (Now I see the author has explained in a comment that it’s supposed to be a little wet so it stays in place on top of the peaches). The cake is still great. Usually I think American desserts are too sweet, but this one is not. The bread lets the peaches shine as the sweet element, similar to its namesake: cobbler. This would do well as a breakfast bread, as the yogurt-based batter reminds me of coffee cake. I did not have issues with over browning or burning of the liquid. I used the same size loaf pan as the author (I measured) and my loaf rose slightly above the pan but didn’t spill over. I weighed my peaches after pitting them, and used about 3 peaches total. I baked exactly 60 minutes and it was perfect, could have even pulled it out a few minutes earlier and it might have been softer. I let it cool in the pan on a rack for a few hours, then stored in microwave in the pan as suggested. Sliced into it the next day and it was quite nice. Next time I’ll weigh the batter to be sure I get exactly 1/2 into the pan before adding the peach layer, as my bottom layer of batter was slightly thicker than the middle. The batter is very dense, which I get is needed to hold the peaches suspended, but it created a very solid layer of cake on the bottom. I might even try pushing the peaches down into the batter and spooning the batter more randomly around while adding peaches, so they are more evenly dispersed instead of just lined up in a row. And if I’m being picky, I personally crave a more spices and flavor, so I might add some cinnamon and maybe almond or vanilla extract to the batter. But, I’m saying this as a person who doesn’t love pie-style desserts (i.e. the formula of a bland white crust against fruity filling). This cake is almost pie-like in that the batter is just there to support your peaches. So be sure you get amazing peaches, and this will be a hit.
This turned out spectacular! I added some blueberries and a generous sprinkling of turbinado sugar on top. Baked for 65 minutes. Maybe I’d double the struesel next time.
Ingredients lists for cake and streusel say “cold is fine” for the butter, then recipe uses melted butter without instructions to melt it. Maybe say “melted” in ingredients lists?
Personally, I tend to scan recipes to know if the butter needs to be room temperature. So for my style, her specification was helpful.
This came out perfectly! Streusel is delicious and no burning on the side; note that I only scooped the peaches into the batter one by one and I did not pour the remaining juices over the peaches in the end. My only comment is the batter was much thicker than I expected; though I’m sure I followed all the measurements exactly, I did use sour cream instead of yogurt and I’m not sure if that made it thicker? Nevertheless, it rose and baked perfectly.
I made it with yogurt and the batter was still very thick. I think this is why the peaches all don’t sink. (For what it’s worth, I used peaches that were a little hard and not very sweet and they came out soft and sweet in the cake. This is a great recipe for not great peaches.)
This cake did not turn out great. Part of it was definitely a me problem, I over baked it by about 5 minutes and also did not use top of the line fruit. But over all it turned out dry and doesn’t seem sweet enough, which is not a complaint that I usually make about baked goods. Again that could be due to the fruit that I used. The biggest problem was the streusel, it turned into complete mush and did not form crumbs until I added about three more tablespoons of flour and used my fingers to break it up.
Made this yesterday! The batter was quite thick and there didn’t seem to be enough of it, but in the end it baked up beautifully. The bottom and sides were quite dark – it was a nice flavor (not burnt), but I’d probably bake for 65 rather than 70 min next time. As other commenters mentioned, the topping did need an extra 1/4 c flour to clump properly. Overall we thought the cake was moist and very tasty. I was pleased to find a recipe for extra peaches that didn’t require peeling :) We are excited to enjoy the leftovers today!
Very yummy, but the edges were almost burnt. I covered the pan with foil when I saw the top getting too dark but couldn’t do anything about the bottom and sides. The interior of the cake is delicious! I’m wondering if a lower temp would help?
I bake for a small hotel and have also been trying to get a peach loaf perfected. Most of what I bake gets frozen for a few weeks before serving, so I usually steer away from streusel toppings. Do you think this would freeze OK? or maybe I should make sure there’s enough batter to cover the top layer of peaches? Regardless, I am trying this recipe tomorrow, for my own delicious treat.
I would worry more about the large chunks of peach not thawing well. I think the cake might be wet around the peaches.
This turned out very good, although I would make a couple minor changes next time. First, it looked beautiful; I fully lined my loaf pan with parchment, and I had no burning around the edges. I will add some vanilla to the somewhat plain batter. Also, I will try making the streusel by cutting solid butter in, rather than melting the butter; I had a similar problem with the streusel as others. The texture was good on day 1, but much better on day 2 (used Deb’s tip about storing cake in the microwave). A keeper for sure!
If I wanted to brown the butter that goes in the batter, do I need to compensate for the lost moisture?
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
Assistant Amanda here while Deb is on vacation! If you’re using brown butter, it’s best to replace about 1T of water per 1/2 cup stick of butter.
I came to ask the exact same question and you beat me to it. Amanda, thank you for the response!
This was soooo yummy. I didn’t have a loaf pan; I am kinda camping out at the moment. I used an 8″ cake pan and it worked great. I just watched the time closely as it was not has thick.
Could we do this as a muffin? Would love to see that as well.
You might try the peach crumb muffin recipe from her cookbook Smitten Kitchen Keepers
I made this today.
565 grams peaches, pitted”. Weigh 565 g of whole peaches on your scale, then remove the pits and slice.
It fills up the pan size Deb uses. Just so pretty even before baking.
This was really good. I would maybe add a little cinnamon to the batter, and would put more batter on the bottom layer than I did the first time.
In answer to someone’s question, I weighed the peaches after pitting, which resulted in 4 medium peaches, instead of 3. Loved the bigger chunks instead of thin slices.
I also added about 1/4 c of flour to streusel and even that didn’t look like the crumbs in the picture.
Anxious to hear from Deb about weighing the peaches before or after pitting, and about the streusel, but all in all, a very good cake.
Made this yesterday and all I can say is OMG!
Your Peach Cobbler Loaf looks absolutely amazing! Honestly overflowing and messy is how I like my loafs to turn out. I cannot wait to try this! Thank you for sharing
Wondering if this would work would any fruit (though it might miss some of the mosaic beauty of peaches…..or a combination of fruits for a real mosaic look.
Assistant Amanda here while Deb is on vacation! Deb suspects other fruits would work, but can’t confirm as she hasn’t tested them. She has a feeling that it would work with plums or apples.
I’m making the original as is. Next one will be with mango.
Thank you for this recipe – I’m jealous of your peaches. I recently bought 6 peaches hoping to make a cobbler and 6/6 were rotten inside, despite feeling totally normal on the outside.
I can’t believe I’ve been following you for 20 years – you’re the original influencer, Deb!
Can ricotta be used in place of yogurt or sour cream?
I thought nothing could beat your pumpkin loaf but this is brilliant and a wonderful way to celebrate peach season and the end of summer. I will definitely be adding this loaf to my summer baking rotation as it tasted amazing, was a joy to make, and also made the house smell so lovely. (I also appreciated your tip about storing the loaf in the microwave!) Thank you for taking the time to get the recipe just right. Perfection takes time!
We should eat this with a scoop of ice cream in celebratory fashion, right?
This is my FAVORITE type of Deb recipe- one that you have been working on for yearssss and looks like this- just perfect. Cannot wait to make it.
I don’t know why I continue to be stunned after making one of your recipes, but this was simply extraordinary. How did you know all the parts of peach cobbler I wanted more of, and make them so accessible? Instantly added to my ‘classics’ list of recipe. Thank you.
Made this with my 4 year old the other day. We used demerara sugar in place of brown sugar as that’s what we had on hand. We also scattered a handful of frozen blueberries across the top prior to adding the streusel. Yum, so delicious and a great way to use up our subpar batch of peaches.
Another genius Deb recipe :) the cake smells and tastes terrific, even with the substitutions I made:
1 C white wheat/golden wheat King Arthur flour
1/3 C AP flour
All granulated sugar (didn’t have brown)
Regular whole milk yogurt (didn’t have Greek)
~1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar (I do this when I add some whole wheat flour to quick breads to help boost the rise and cut any bitterness from the wheat)
70 minute bake was almost too much, but my tester came out wet at 60 🤷
I still had a very dark color on the top like other commenters, but it doesn’t taste burned at all. Just very strongly baked, as they say on GBBO.
Made this last night and it was pretty alright. When to eat it has been something of a dilemma because the main cake is improved by an overnight rest but the streusel loses some crunch even when uncovered! My notes were:
– Pouring the peach/lemon juices over is absolute sabotage and made it very hard to tell when the cake was actually done. Mine ended up overbaked due to this.
– The peaches were great, wouldn’t change anything about the spice/sugar level on them. Big wedges is 100% the right choice.
– The batter itself was on the bland side, it definitely needed something more than half a lemon’s zest. The overnight peach juice migration is helping but I still wish it had a little more going on.
– Streusel *really* needs more flour, it was just a greasy paste when made following the weight measurements. I’d also just boost the amount of streusel in general, it felt kind of skimpy even after I threw another tablespoon or two of flour in.
– Perfect fit in a 1.5l loaf pan, no drips or escaped strudel crumbs.
I gave this a try last night. I was questioning the amount of peaches and the thickness of the wedges (my peaches were pretty big) so I ended up cutting more wedges per peach than what the recipe said and I let myself snack on a few slices from the recipe before assembling the loaf. I should have just followed the recipe. The loaf is really tasty, but I think it would have been better if I had cut the peaches thicker and if I had distributed them better (I’ll push some pieces down in the batter so they aren’t just in two layers). Will make again!
wondering what could happen with roasted peaches? if worth a try, how would you? i have at least six peaches leftover from the peach truck, which i froze. either way, i am def trying this! happy vacationing:)
I look forward to making this. Should the peaches be ripe or firm?
I made this a few days ago with 4 peaches from my farm box and it turned out amazing! My kids (10 and 12) don’t always like fruit desserts but they loved this and even wanted to pack it in their lunches. It was very moist and I loved the lemon zest plus ripe peaches plus cinnamon. I too added a couple of extra tablespoons of flour in the struesel topping to get it to form crumbs.
SK Ultimate Zucchini Bread is an absolute favorite of mine. I was so looking forward to eating this Peach Loaf. Unfortunately, the cake was so wet with all of the fruit and juice that I found it hard to time the bake time and determine when it was done. It ended up perfect on top but completely burnt on the bottom and sides. The middle was a little dry. I ended up baking it for the full 75 minutes. At 65 minutes it was still a very wet batter on the top. Next time I would try a glass loaf pan sonit will brown a little less and possibly lower the heat 10°. Any other suggestions? The flavor was great!
Also, I used the zest of an entire lemon and sour cream vs yogurt.
When making the streusel I missed that it said to melt the butter and I made it the traditional way with cold butter, first cutting it into the flour/sugar mixture with a fork, and then using my hand to form it into balls (which softened the butter). Then I crumbled it with my fingers. The streusel turned out perfect! I would not use melted butter.
The texture was great and the crumb on top was perfect, but I thought it missed the flavor of vanilla or almond extract, and the lemon zest was insufficient. Would definitely make again, but would add more cinnamon, some extract and/or more zest.
For those who want more flavor, I’m wondering . . . 1/4 tsp cardamom?
I’m keen to try this recipe it looks delicious and beautiful but it does not seem as foolproof as my tried and true SK recipes… in everyone’s opinion, what amendments should I follow to make it work?
See my notes below – I followed as written (except I skipped the cinnamon) and it was spectacular. I would advise keeping an eye for too-fast browning on top, and if it seems done at 60 min, pull it out.
Thank you!
Can I use canned peaches for this?
I made this for a friend and she and her whole family raved about it! I only wish I could have cut a slice for myself.
I made this, and it came out great! Here are my notes:
– I weighed, then pitted the peaches.
– I accidentally omitted the cinnamon and think it was great – it let the lemon and peach flavors shine. I often find cinnamon a bit too assertive.
– I did pour in the juice from the peach bowl.
– The batter was very very dense and a little hard to spread on top, but careful nudging did the trick.
– When I made the streusel it seemed more like a paste in the bowl than crumbs, but I trusted the recipe and found that it scattered easily into crumb formation.
– I kept an eye on the top for browning, and put foil on the edges at about 30 min; then at 45 min I covered the whole thing with foil.
– I only baked for 60 min – my very careful probing indicated it was done. The cake is a tiny bit pale beneath each peach slice, but I really don’t think it’s raw. It could perhaps have taken 3 more minutes, tops.
– The base/sides of the cake (inside the pan) are brown but not tough – any longer and I fear it would have gotten a little toasty/crispy.
100% would make again! What a spectacular way to celebrate the peaches of summer.
1. I also had trouble with the streusel – it was a paste as written. I added another 3 tablespoons of flour and a tablespoon of sugar to get crumbs, but I felt it didn’t add much to the cake. If I make it again, I’ll use an oat crumble instead for more texture.
2. By the time the top was cooked, the bottom was burnt. Maybe try mixing the juices into the batter (it’s a thick batter) and put a sheet pan on the rack below the rack that the cake is on, rather than under the pan itself.
3. Used a whole lemon’s worth of zest and I’m glad we did.
4. The big chunks of peach are great! I might add in another peach next time (my pan didn’t have trouble with the volume, and it’s a standard loaf pan.)
I’ll let you know how this cake comes out because it’s in the oven right now. But I will say usually your emails are written excellently but this one was not. Am I missing something? Did it say anywhere that the butter should be melted first? When I got to the streusel part and it said to stir the sugar into the butter, I thought to myself how can I do that with cold butter because that’s what it calls for. I found a lot of the recipe, simply not up to your usual recipe writing standards. But let’s see how it turns out! I mean, it looks amazing.
Paragraph 2 – “Add 6 tablespoons melted butter to the larger bowl…”
Paragraph 4 – “Make the streusel: Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl.”
What is unclear about this?
Yes, the streusel instructions call for the butter to be melted.
I made this with pears and it was delicious. A friend has a giant pear tree, and gave me a grocery bag full of pears. It sounded like it would work, and it did. I bet it would work with almost any tree fruit.
This was a bit of a disappointment. The bottom of the loaf was extremely dry and the middle was soggy. I think maybe pushing some of the peaches down into the batter to distribute them more evenly would help?
I also had to add a lot more flour to the topping to get it to form crumbs. It was a thin paste as written.
Came out of the convection microwave perfectly at 60 minutes. Not too browned in the corners and I had a lot of juice. I tried to place the streusel strategically to absorb some of the juices. I used very soft butter for the streusel and mashed everything together and I got crumbs. I have a convection setting on my over that I never use, but the convection microwave with the turntable bakes evenly and completely at the lower end of the baking range. Even sponge cakes come out great. Any more anything I bake that will fit on the turntable goes in the convection microwave.
Sad to say that this one was not up to the SK standards. By the time a toothpick came out clean, the sides were very dark brown. Relatively bland even with some added vanilla, and as others have noted the streusel was all wrong. Some of this probably stems from the lackluster nectarines I used, but this recipe needs a bit more work.
My second attempt turned out much better. I lowered the temperature to 350, nixed the lemon, swapped in some vanilla and nutmeg for the cinnamon, used cold butter for the streusel, and probably most importantly, had better peaches to work with.
Made as directed but skipped the streudel. (I know, but it’s just not my thing.). Cake was fully done (no burning or overly brown bits despite adding the juices) in 60 minutes and thanks to other commenters, I covered it with foil halfway through. I will probably add vanilla extract next time, as the cake was “missing something” for me. Overall, delicious! Thanks, Deb, for sharing such wonderful recipes with us!
Can I use white peaches for this cake?
Reading this, I think the streusel bowl could be nixed by making the streusel in the dough bowl (or even the peaches bowl) once they are empty because the rest of the loaf is assembled. Word of warning: I haven’t tested this for this recipe in particular (waiting for peaches from my parents’ tree) but I’ve done similar things for other recipes.
I made this yesterday to eat for breakfast today. I skipped the crumble and instead lay a thin layer of batter on the top. I used all white sugar to try to lighten the batter a bit. I also used the entire stick of butter and it was still really thick and hard to spread. I know this is to keep the peaches from sinking, it’s just a bit of a hassle to get into the pan. I poured some of the juices on each layer of peaches instead of all on top.
I use a ceramic tea loaf pan from KA that’s 12 x 4 x 2.5. By 30 minutes, my loaf was really brown on top and I tented with foil and turned it down to 350. By 60 minutes, it was overbrown on the ends and especially corners for my taste.
I like it, would make it again, but with more changes. The peach distribution is great, loved the large chunks. But the lemon juice made the peaches too sour against the cake. I will bake it at 350 the whole time. I didn’t taste the spice, so I’d probably skip it. A demerera crunchy lid would be great.
I followed the recipe as stated. Turned out fine. 2nd day was moister and better I thought. The top got a little dark on top ends because of the peach juice poured on top, but it was fine (Deb’s version has some dark spots in the photo too). 60 min bake was fine. I did put the loaf pan on a sheet pan which was good as a little juice ran over but not much. The locally grown peaches at my market in Seattle are softball size so 2 large peaches hit the weight amount and worked perfect. For the streusel I only partially melted the butter and used quantity of flour listed then just broke off chunks by hand to scatter across top of loaf. I shared some slices with friends and they all loved it.
–can we please get some clarification on this recipe? I made it using nectarines because it’s what I had in the house and is each nectarine or peach supposed to be cut into 8 pieces or is it a total of 8 pieces after you cut up ALL of your fruit?
–secondly, if you follow the instructions and make the streusel with the melted butter, the streusel will appear more like a paste or a thick soup. However as you go about working on the recipe, the butter in the streusel will firm up a bit as you go along so it will then have the correct crumbly texture you need
You want 8 wedges from each piece of fruit; apologies for the confusion, now clarified in the recipe.
The streusel is intended to be soft, not thick like the crumbs used for a crumble or crumb cake. However, it will still clump (see my photos for reference). The reason is that we want it to stick to the top of the peaches and cake well, not easily fall off. It helps lock them in. I’ll have a video shortly.
I only have regular vanilla Greek yogurt. Would that work?
….we don’t cut 1.25 pounds into only 8 wedges, do we? Is it 8 wedges per piece of fruit, or 8 wedges total? From the photo, it looks like 8 wedges per fruit but “cut into 8 wedges” sounds like I have some gigantic chunks of peach going into this loaf.
8 wedges per piece of fruit. Apologies for the confusion.
I can’t wait to cut in – it’s cooling now! I just wanted to say thank you for your easy to follow recipes! I love that you include the measurements again in the steps. Makes life so much easier when my hands are a mess and ingredients are scattered on the countertop!
Made this today. Delicious and well-named. Wonderful to eat one’s peach cobbler without a bowl!
Ended up not having enough APF in the house so used King Arthur’s Gluten-Free 1:1 for half of the amount and it worked fine.
Family raved.
Delicious cake! Made it for a dinner at a relatives yesterday. Everyone loved it. It did not overflow my pan.
Deb, I made this yesterday with my accidental purchase of nectarines instead of peaches! No problem. It is so delicious that hubby told me it’s one of the best desserts I’ve ever made. Just so you know, we eat desserts any time of day including breakfast. Couldn’t wait to eat some yesterday although you’re correct that it’s even better the next day. I should know. This morning, I had two pieces wirh my coffee after having eaten my healthy fruit and oatmeal!
I made this. It is very yummy and peachy. I did add a tablespoon of brandy to the peaches while they were in the sugar and lemon juice. And I added about a quarter cup of sliced almonds to the batter. It’s really good. I used 3 peaches which may have been more than the recipe (I didn’t weigh them) but I had them from the last of some from a nearby farm stand. The recipe is forgiving and it came out baked just right at 70 minutes.
Just made this, it’s wonderful. I didn’t check it, just pulled it out after 70 minutes and think that the dark edges add to its messy charm, like when a galette bleeds. Like others I needed to add a bit more flour tablespoon at a time til it streusel-ed properly. No big deal. More streusel is not a bad thing. Juices were juicy and led to the correct amount of textural variation. I suspect the moisture variation in the peaches and yogurt brands are important variables to control. Very good thick Greek style yogurt worked well. Waiting til it was sufficiently cool to get those beautiful slices was the only challenge. Don’t skip the parchment sling or the tray. Thanks for another lovely cake, Deb.
Another absolute winner! Deb, I don’t know how you do it. I made this on Saturday for a party on Sunday. Everyone loved it. Definitely agree with making it a day ahead. Also I baked it the full 70 minutes. Came out nice and golden. Would love to try it with plums when they are back in season too. Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
This turned out very well (and so pretty). No streusel crumb issues. A slightly thick crust but it didn’t detract from the texture. Would make again!
Made this yesterday, I followed recipe using sour cream instead of the yogurt and doubled the streusel after reading the comments. It was delicious! I did not have over browning and it was done perfectly at 60 minutes. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Made this yesterday. Absolutely delicious! I used sour cream instead of yogurt and doubled streusel after reading comments. It was done perfectly after 60 minutes without over browning. Thank you for another great recipe!
Like other commenters, I had issues with browning/baking time and the crumble. I thought I might solve the crumble issue by refrigerating the crumble mix while I made the base. I wish I hadn’t because then I would have definitely known it needed more flour (I have done this with other crumble recipes using melted butter and it’s worked well). Mine needed 80 minutes to be fully baked. As a result, the bottom half was overdone while the top half was perfectly done but with some deep, deep browning. It’s an easy recipe and the idea is good. But not worth the ingredients.
I’m gonna go ahead and be that person and ask if this can be made with apples. Peaches are basically gone here. I’m assuming apples can’t be swapped in because they’re a different texture/density, but I thought I’d see what you think. Thank you!!
I’ve been thinking about it since! I will test it soon. I suspect it will be just fine, however, I do peel apples.
Oooh, yay, thank you!! And if I try it I will report back!
Update: I found nectarines, but they ripened into watery rocks, so I ended up using ripe pears that I cut into large bite-sized chunks. While I used butter in the streusel, I used avocado oil in the cake batter. It’s perfect. So good. Thank you!
I immediately wanted to make this upon seeing the recipe, but I had to wait for my peaches to ripen up a bit. Finally baked it this morning and it smells so good- I cannot wait to dig in! I followed the recipe exactly (weighing the ingredients) and had zero of the issues that other commenters mentioned. The streusel crumbled just fine as is (I think the key is not to over mix it), the top browned beautifully with no foil needed (despite my oven running hot – if you bake often, get yourself an oven thermometer!), the loaf was fully cooked through in 60 minutes. It looks amazing and the only reason I haven’t dug in yet is because it’s too hot the handle.
I whipped this up today, and wow, it’s the most delicious thing I’ve made in ages! It totally blew my mind.
I followed the recipe to the letter. I used three peaches. The streusel was just right, as the recipe said. I’m not usually a fan of making streusel topping, but this was so easy and painless.
I’m definitely making this again.
Thank you for a great recipe!
A *big* hit! Perfect use for the peaches and nectarines that were just about to give up the ghost. And absolutely better a couple of days later. Shared the last half with the neighbors and they loved it too.
This is delicious!! Made exactly as written except I cut my peaches into cubes as they were quite hard, I feared slices would not cook thoroughly. Everyone loved it!
Pretty and popular at a bbq. I did bring brownies, too, which was perfect for both the younger and much older crowd.
I think I overbaked the loaf slightly, because it’s hard to tell just when it’s done. But people still liked it. The juicy peach slices were lovely, nestled in the cake.
I made it but haven’t tasted it yet. Easy and looks great. One question. The 1 1/4 lbs of peaches into 8 wedges? Shouldn’t it be each peach into 8 wedges? I needed 2 peaches. I don’t think you meant 8 total wedges but actually 16. Could you clarify?
I tried making this today (first time ever making a peach cake for Rosh Hashanah!) and I ran into similar problems as other people have noted. I decided before even starting that, sorry Deb, but peaches have to have nutmeg and ginger. and I was worried it would be bland, based on other comments, so I added vanilla. I checked a different recipe for streusel topping that I love and decided to swap the granulated sugar for brown and doubled the amount of sugar in the streusel. That fixed the texture issues others mentioned. The sides of my cake got very dark, but when I tried to cover the top with tin foil, that prevented the middle (and underneath) parts of the cake from baking properly. Eventually I moved the foil so it only covered the sides. Still, it took about 80 minutes to bake through. Overall not thrilled with this recipe, especially the way that it was hyped up as being the result of many years’ testing and improvements. Sorry, Deb, you may need to revisit it again next year!
My streusal turned into a paste and I did not realize this was wrong till halfway through baking ( i don’t bake that often)
I remade it, adding way more flour then suggested. Like almost a cup, until it turned into a crumb. Attached the baked crumble to the cake with a raspberry peach jam I turned into a syrup.
I read the comments about batter thickness and streusel thinness and decided to follow the recipe without modifications (except I chopped the peaches instead of leaving them in slices. Whoops. Hardly made a big difference though). I enjoyed it, though I found it a bit dense/claggy inside. I didn’t mind how dark it gets on the sides, it adds contrast. I’m not sure I would make it again since I am usually averse to using 3 bowls for a simple loaf cake, and I’m not sure the result packs enough bang for my buck in terms of energy – but it is tasty!
Made this today for a celebration where a loaf didn’t seem fancy enough enough: I doubled it and made it in a 9” springform pan. Worked great but took nearly about 1h45m and the crumble was not super-crisp. I also subbed lime for lemon. I think it could have tolerated even a few more peach slices. Served with whipped cream to positive reviews.
I made this the day I saw the recipe…I just HAD to.
Good decision! I made 2 smaller loafs, and both got wolfed down in 2 different households.
It’s early Spring here, so I used really high quality canned peaches that I drained and patted dry (Like I said, I couldn’t go another hour without making it, much less another month or two! I can’t imagine it made too much of a difference, but I will try with fresh when I can.
The cake portion is PERFECT, and I will be playing with different fruits. Next up, raspberry and pear.
This was…okay. I know a big part of that is because the peaches I can get here in Scotland are completely underwhelming/borderline awful (especially considering I grew up on Calhoun County peaches), but the cake itself was surprisingly bland, despite the batter tasting lovely before baking.
After reading through the “I made this” section, I added almond extract to the cake batter and made 50% more streusel (I didn’t have the issue w/ streusel texture that some people had because I was expecting a softer streusel anyway – stir w/ a fork and you’ll be grand! – but I do also use closer to 13-14g for a tablespoon of butter). My loaf tin is closer to a 9×5, so I lowered the baking temp a bit and I’m glad I did (my usual cream cheese pound cake bakes at 165C for around an hour, so 190C set my alarm bells ringing – I split the diff and baked at 175C and still had to cover w/ foil the last 15 minutes).
We didn’t finish this cake and I won’t make it again – I do think it really does rely on absolutely stellar peaches. On the off-chance I do ever find any here in Scotland, I may try and adapt the purple plum torte (a mainstay in my house!) to use peaches instead, just to see what happens :)
Hiya! Do you think it could work on canned peaches?
I have been waiting for this without knowing I was waiting for it. The default peach baked good in this house is Edna Staebler’s astounding peach upside down cake from Food That Really Schmecks (also baked with a sheet pan underneath it). I can’t wait to try this one.
this is so incredibly delicious!!! I have made upwards of 20 sk recipes over the last decade with overall very positive results, but this is so good I’m moved to comment for the first time. I followed the recipe exactly, except maybe an extra 50-100g of peaches. I waited about 12 hours so it was fully cooled and I’m glad I did because texture was perfect and I think warm peaches wouldn’t have been as good.
Re: the peach cobbler cake, can I use frozen peaches? if so, what adjustments to the recipe do i need to make? This sounds delicious and I have fresh peaches that I froze. thank you, Kate Murphy
I made this and it received very mixed reviews, ranging from loving it to meh. My edits: 1 generous teaspoon of vanilla in the batter, baked at 350 for 75 minutes, used the streusel exactly (but mine didn’t appear to be as generous as Deb’s), and added half the peach juice to the batter so that the top didn’t burn. The latter was probably a mistake, as I found the batter to be too gummy. I did love the streusel and the big sections of peaches.
This recipe was extremely disappointing. Totally tasteless.
I made your peach cake. It was lovely as is (people at work agreed) but I decided to experiment with it. I omitted the cinnamon, added almond extract in the cake, and sliced almonds on top with the strudel. I got a first place at the county fair. The feedback: “Loved the fruit layering. Displays beautifully when sliced. Nice crumb which is not an easy feat
with moist add-ins.” I thought you might like to know. Thank you so much for the recipe!