Before letting you delve into the Recipe for the Super Soft Peach Cake Without Butter for days, I’ll share some anecdotes that led to the creation of this delicious dessert.
Lately, I’ve been recording many video recipes, very simple, quick with a format still in development, but I must admit that you like them, the subscribers to the YouTube Channel are increasing as well as your questions and recipe requests. So this dessert with fresh peaches was born from one of your requests: “Bea, this cake just doesn’t turn out right!”
Could I say no to one of the most loyal and long-standing readers of my recipe blog? Absolutely not! So on Friday morning, I got to work in my kitchen. Knife, cutting board, electric beaters (not very cooperative, you can see the outtakes from the set on the Instagram profile) and peaches!!!
My father described it as one of the most spectacular cakes I’ve ever made, and with such a premise, do you think you can resist trying this dessert with peaches?
Another factor not to overlook, I’m creating the Category Recipes with Fruit, you’ve already seen it, if you missed it you can catch up by clicking here, and I was looking for desserts with peaches. I didn’t want to make another cake with canned peaches, I already have the peach tart on the blog, so the inspiration came.
A reader wrote to me that this fresh peach cake without butter isn’t turning out right for them. Not at all, sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s liquid, and sometimes the peaches are stuck to the bottom of the pan. So I responded to this request by challenging myself as I always love to do.
How did it end? Watch the video recipe below or look at the photos of this peach cake and let me know what you think in the comments!!
Below you will find the other peach recipes on the blog, each link will take you directly to the recipe you choose to read.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer, Spring
- Energy 209.05 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 30.98 (g) of which sugars 12.16 (g)
- Proteins 4.24 (g)
- Fat 8.36 (g) of which saturated 1.55 (g)of which unsaturated 6.43 (g)
- Fibers 0.96 (g)
- Sodium 54.67 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Peach Cake Without Butter Recipe
When you decide to prepare this dessert remember to: put the peaches in the refrigerator at least the day before!
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or soft cake flour)
- 1/3 cup potato starch (or cornstarch)
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 3 peaches (in my case, cold nectarines from the fridge)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup milk (at room temperature)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- to taste brown sugar (to use at various stages)
- 1 lemon (we will need its juice)
- 1 packet baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste powdered sugar (for final decoration)
The peaches listed in the ingredients are three, two will be used for the decoration of the fresh peach cake without butter while the third will be used for the batter.
Tools for Super Soft Peach Cake
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Scale
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Pan
- 1 Plate
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Oven
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Sieve
The recipe isn’t difficult but hides a few small pitfalls that could mislead those not very familiar with desserts with fillings, pieces of fruit, creams, or other ingredients that often end up at the bottom. We have often talked about desserts with chocolate chips stuck to the pans or parchment paper, about desserts that collapse in the center or others that just do not rise.
The trick often, or rather the tricks and secrets, are always in the quantity and temperature of the ingredients. We could almost call it a chemistry issue. For the chocolate chips, I always recommend putting them in the freezer before starting the preparation of a recipe. For the fruit the same, either the refrigerator or the freezer so they can become cold. This will counteract the heat and tendency to slide to the bottom of the cake pan. Some people flour the items but I have never done it. With this little introduction let’s move on to the recipe.
Steps for the Super Soft and Delicious Peach Cake Without Butter
Put the peaches, all three, in the refrigerator at least the day before preparation. This is a critical step, I’ve already written it in the ingredient list but it’s good to reiterate it. This way you avoid ending up with peach pieces on the cake pan. Another critical step: milk and eggs at room temperature, as mentioned chemistry issue! Cold ingredients don’t mix well with desserts like milk and eggs. Unsuccessful marriages from many perspectives. Having said that, let’s start!
Take a wooden cutting board and a sharp knife. From one peach, after washing it well, cut many small cubes. In my case, there were three beautiful hard nectarines with thick skin. Place the peach cubes in a small bowl, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with some raw brown sugar. Place the plate in the refrigerator and proceed.
Now take the other two peaches, from these however we will make many slices not too thin but not too thick either. In the video recipe, the thickness of the peaches is clearly visible. Place on a plate and repeat the previous step with lemon juice, brown sugar, and then place in the refrigerator. We can now focus on creating the batter for this dessert with fresh peaches.
Take a bowl with nice high edges, place all the necessary ingredients nearby after weighing them, of course, and sift the flour with potato starch and with the baking powder. Also, have all the necessary tools nearby, the 24 cm pan or cake tin max 26 cm. The electric beaters and the spatula. Then turn on the oven with the static mode at 350°F.
Start by breaking the two eggs, adding a pinch of salt and the white sugar in this case, turn on the electric beaters and work the mixture until it becomes nice and frothy. Continue then adding the liquids, first the milk at room temperature and then the vegetable oil. Once well incorporated into the batter, we can proceed with the flours.
One tablespoon at a time, slowly and without haste. Once a good consistency is reached, we can turn off the beaters and continue with the spatula. The perfect consistency should be a bit thick, it’s not the usual soft batter, this will help keep the peach slices on the surface but will be even more important because it will keep the peach pieces at mid-level of the cake. So if it still seems too liquid, add a few tablespoons of flour, gradually, to keep the consistency under control.
Now take the peach cubes from the fridge, add them to the bowl with the batter and work with firm movements from bottom to top with the spatula. Grease the bottom of the pan or cake tin with your hands or a paper towel and pour the batter inside. Level the surface with the maryse, then sprinkle with brown sugar.
As mentioned, the brown sugar doesn’t have a precise dose in the ingredient list, this is because it is used in several parts of the recipe but always with small and quick sprinkles. So don’t overuse it but don’t be stingy with this ingredient either.
Now take the second plate from the fridge, the one with the peach slices, and place them gradually, in a circle on the surface of our cake. This step is also very well seen in the video recipe, do not exert pressure and proceed gently. Sprinkle with more brown sugar and bake in the center of the oven, already hot, for at least 45 – 50 minutes.
As I show in the video, always do the toothpick test before turning off the oven. Then let the peach cake without butter cool completely for at least two hours before taking it out of the pan. If you have a cake tin with a removable edge, even better, you will definitely have an easier time with this step.
As always, I have the cake tin but decide to complicate things, so I took two flat plates, with one I covered the cake, turning it upside down, and it detached from the pan. I then placed the other plate, the one seen in the photographs with an orange edge, in place of the pan and flipped everything once more. Basically plate on top of plate as if it were an omelet. Fortunately, it didn’t break because it was nice and cold!!!
At this point, all that’s left is to sprinkle with powdered sugar, of course, if you like it, otherwise, it’s delicious even without, and finally cut and enjoy our fresh peach cake! And woe to those who tell me that with canned peaches it’s just as good, I will never believe you!!!
I just need to remind you that I’m waiting for you every morning in the group and on the Facebook page of Bea’s Recipes (oh, we’re almost 18,000 people! thank you from the bottom of my heart for this result) with the Recipe of the Day and of course, I wish you a good appetite!!!
Tips for Super Soft Peach Cake
I recommend placing in the refrigerator the peaches before starting the preparation of this dessert. The three peaches I used were placed in the refrigerator the day before. Then I recommend placing them in the fridge as we proceed with the steps, so both the diced and sliced ones. This will ensure they don’t end up at the bottom of the cake as often happens with other recipes.
Then I recommend using raw brown sugar, the coarse-grained one, much more useful than the fine cane sugar we put in coffee, to be clear. It adds crunchiness and flavor to desserts.
Last but not least: let it cool completely before removing the peach cake from the pan, you risk it breaking if hot.
Storing the Peach Cake
You can store this dessert with fresh peaches in a classic cake stand with a dome, for up to two days, then you risk the fruit moisture causing mold. In this regard, I recommend, if it doesn’t disappear in a day and a half like it does at my house, to store the peach cake in the refrigerator.
However, you will need to allow the dessert to come to room temperature for a few minutes before enjoying it, otherwise it will feel cold to the bite, also losing a bit of its softness.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
If you liked this cake, write it in the comments
If you liked this cake, write it in the comments
