This is my kind of cake – no need for frosting, glazing or any other kind of adornment. The bright colors of the fruit says it all. Peach is a summer fruit – the colors are bright as the fall leaves and sunny as a summer day. And let me in you on a secret – this one was made with a boxed mix. A boxed mix, the liquids and a few peaches , that is all it takes to make this cake.
I don't usually use pre- packaged cake mixes, but I do keep a simple vanilla cake mix in the pantry for emergencies (of the cake kind, of course! ). Usually I find that the cake mixes have too much sugar and too much baking powder. But these are essentially are pre-measured dry ingredients and as such offers a good base to build on. Add flavorings, play around with the the liquid ingredients and it is no longer the basic vanilla cake!
So here is how it happened. The plan was to make a peach cake from scratch. The batter was ready, the oven was preheated, but just before going into the oven there was a minor accident and the batter ended up in trash bin. There was not enough time to prep for another one, so it was the Vanilla Cake mix's day. A few tweaks to get the same texture as my original recipe called for, and the there we had the fresh peach coffee cake :-).
I used about 3 peaches for a box of cake mix and the results were very pleasing. The cake was just perfect as a coffee cake. I love the beautiful colors of the peaches on top and did not want anything to hide that. So it was served plain with a cup of hot coffee. Now if that is too plain for you, dust with powdered sugar or top with a dollop of whipped cream . In our case it was sliced and gobbled up while the cake was still warm ! I know not the proper way to treat a cake, but well there things happen !
There is not much mystery to making this cake. Pretty much follow the instructions in the box. I wanted the cake to have small bits of peaches on every bite. So cubed peaches were added to the batter, about 2 C. All this fruit adds extra moisture to the batter. To compensate I reduced the recommended amount of water bu 1/4 C. To get more intense peach flavor you could use peach nectar instead of water. Just keep in mind that the peach nectar adds to the sugar content.
Arrange the thinly sliced peaches over the batter in a decorative fashion. If these slices were thick they will sink and the batter will rise and baker over them as the cake bakes. Now that is not a necessarily a bad thing, but in this case I wanted the beautiful look of the sliced peaches on top.
I word on the cake mix , use any of your favorite brand. Reduce the liquid amount by 1/4 C for each 15 oz (about 400g) bag.
An easy and light coffee cake made fresh peaches.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9" spring form pan with parchment paper (or use an equivalent pan with at least 2" tall sides). Thinly slice one of the peaches - about 15 to 20 pieces. Keep the pieces about 1/4 " thick or less to prevent them from sinking into the batter. Cut the remaining peaches into small cubes about 1/2 cm thick (about 2 cups). Add 2 Tbsp of the cake mix to the cubed pieces and toss to coat. Set aside.
Beat water, eggs and oil together until well mixed and a little frothy. Slowly beat in half the cake mix and fold in the rest by hand. Make sure that there are no large lumps. Add the cubed peaches and fold in using a spatula.
Transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the sliced peaches on top, in decorative manner.Do not cover the top fully, let there be some room for the cake batter to expand.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the tops have browned lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean .
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
Transfer to a cooling rack and take the ring off the spring form pan. Cool completely before slicing .
Using a different kind of pan will change the baking time.
In that case check the cake after 30 minutes, if browning too fast tent with aluminum foil and reduce the heat to 325°F (160°C).
Oh no – am I going to have to wait another year to try this cake? No peaches available now, but it looks so good!
🙂 .. I know that feeling. Hope you make it when peaches are back in season .
Yes — I could use tea and a slice of cake right about now !!
I miss peaches now that they are no longer in season. This looks YUMM!
I know .. we made this quite a few times this summer. They never lasted long enough for me to take good pictures.
This cake is so pretty and sounds utterly delicious! I always love step-by-step photos — so helpful!