Peach Almond Cake Recipe
This peach almond cake recipe reminds me of Grandma’s warm embrace and infectious smile. It’s the peach cake you lounge on the sofa with as the afternoon sun tickles your cheek and spreads warmth all the way down to your toes.
Easy Peach Almond Cake
Mark Twain once wrote, “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
Well, Mr. Twain, can we also add good food to that list? Because good food, like this peach almond cake recipe sure makes for an ideal life!
This cake recipe is very similar in concept to an upside down peach cake with the peach slices nestled in the top of the cake, except there’s no flipping needed here.
Instead, this peach dessert is really straightforward and easy to make. And should you decide to make this at another time in the year when peaches aren’t in season, well, you can really choose your pick of fruit!
In the early fall, use plums or figs. As the season progresses, swap in persimmon or pears. And as you head into spring, feel free to use fresh strawberries!
Peach Almond Cake Gluten Free
Cinnamon, fresh peaches, and toasted almonds come together to deliver a perfumed, delicate cake whose sweetness is subtle enough to pass as a meal for breakfast, but pleasurable enough to lose yourself in every single bite.
While the cake batter can be made with almost any fruit (like nectarines), there’s something particularly gratifying about this cake when it’s paired with peaches.
The sweet, juicy peaches just go so well with the moist and tender almond cake.
Technically, you could use regular flour to make this cake, but I really don’t think it would be the same.
While I didn’t set out with the intention to make a gluten-free cake recipe (I don’t necessarily adhere to a GF diet), I think the almond flour is integral to this recipe.
The almond flour contributes a tender crumb and incredible almond aroma and flavor.
While this peach almond cake was baking, I basked in the glorious smell of summertime in a baker’s kitchen, wishing my home could always smell like this.
When this summer dessert was finally cool to cut into, I was rewarded with the taste of sweet vanilla and almond flooding my senses, the aroma you’d expect from any good almond flour cake.
The baked peaches were smooth and creamy against the light and tender, buttery crumb.
In a way, Mark Twain’s quote remains relevant, even without the addition of “good food” in his quote.
As I relished in each and every bite of this peach almond cake, I could feel my conscious getting sleepier and sleepier with sheer bliss over each and every bite!
Peach Almond Cake
Delicate almond cake with sweet peach slices nestled inside.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1.5 peaches, sliced 1/4" thin
- almond flakes
- powdered sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan (and, optionally, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, otherwise just grease very well).
- Mix almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.
- In another bowl, use a rubber spatula to cream the butter and sugar together until mixed well. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well until incorporated. Add the vanilla and grated lemon zest; stir to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with your spatula until they’re all blended together. Add the sour cream and stir until it’s fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the greased cake pan (it will be thick). Use your spatula to smooth out the top. Place the peach slices in a radial pattern, starting from the outer edges and working your way in. Sprinkle the top with the sliced or flaked almonds.
- Bake the cake for approximately 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Run a knife along the edges of the pan and flip out of the pan onto a wire cooling rack. Make sure to flip the cake right side up once it’s on the rack so that the top of the cake with the peaches are facing up. Once the cake is barely warm, dust the top with powdered sugar.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 10 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 256
Hi there! Any changes I need to make for baking at altitude?
Thank you!
Hi Marena, I recommend checking out King Arthur’s guide on high-altitude baking to make any necessary tweaks! 🙂
Is super fine almond flour okay to use?
Hi Eileen, yes almond flour works too. 🙂
I just made this cake exactly as described. The peaches made the cake completely watery. There’s a big puddle in the middle.
Hi Stefanie, I’m not sure why your cake was watery, as I’ve never had that issue with this cake. The only thing I can think is that either your cake was a bit underbred or you used very juicy peaches. Otherwise, I do this recipe with peaches, nectarines, and plums and never have this problem so I’m not sure how else to troubleshoot the issue here.
I wonder if it was canned fruit? I used canned peaches and ended up with too much moisture too 🙁 had to keep cooking much longer for it to be done. It was very yummy though 🙂 Next one I tried with fresh pear and it was too dry and cooked too quickly 🙁 lol
I can’t get fresh peaches at the moment, any ideas how to make with canned peaches and manage the excess moisture? I did drain them before using, but that didn’t help.
Hi Eleni! Canned fruit won’t work the same because it’s not only that it’s more moist and wet, but it has preservatives and a higher sugar content that affect the baking chemistry for the cake. What you may want to try is slightly stewing the pear slices or sautéing them in a little butter in a pan to get them a little more moist and mimic the texture of a fresh peach slice. 🙂
Hi Beeta,
Thanks for your reply. Thankfully the canned peaches I use don’t have any preservatives 🙂
Will try sauteing the pears!
Can you use almond meal instead of almond flour?
Hi Ivana! Yes you definitely can! 🙂
Hi Beeta
Thank you for sharing this recipe, the cake is tastes and looks amazing! I substituted Sour Cream with Greek Yogurt as that is what I had at hand…Came out wonderful!
– Rajitha
Hi Rajitha! Thank you so much for the kind feedback. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
30 years ago I used to buy a similar cake from a patisserie in Perth, Western Australia. Oh the joy of being able to savour it’s deliciousness once again!
Thanks for the comment, Annelise! That’s one of my favorite parts about cooking and baking…the fact that you can recreate your favorites right at home!
Thanks Beeta. Once again a lovely and inspiring post. I have very fond memories of cooking with my grandmother, in fact I believe that’s what fueled my passion for cooking to this day. I want to make this cake as written and with every fruit on the planet! Quick question–might be able to use fresh figs? Than you again
I absolutely love that quote, and this post. You’ve described this peach almond cake so beautifully, my mouth is watering and I will definitely have to try out this exquisite cake!
Your cake is simply wonderful.
My whole family loves it. I made 5 times this season. Thank you so much.
Oh that makes me so happy to hear Barbara! Thanks for sharing that <3