Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
This cake combines a soft but dense peach pound cake with a cobbler topping. The vanilla batter has a thick layer of fresh peach slices and creates a biscuit-like crust as it bakes. For a potluck or picnic use a rectangular pan and cut it into squares. Make it ahead and keep it refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a month.
Servings 10 servings
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- ¼ cup cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 large peaches about 2 cups cored and sliced
For the cobbler topping:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar + 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Butter or spray a 9x4 inch (10x24 cm) loaf pan and, if you want, add a strip of parchment paper to cover the bottom and two shorter sides. It will help you lift the baked cake to easily remove it.
- If removing skin from peaches: follow instructions for how to peel peaches. It doesn't take long and you just need a pot of boiling water and a large bowl with ice water.
- Slice the peaches and reserve.
For the cake:
- Beat the softened butter for 20 seconds in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Add the sugar gradually while you continue beating at medium speed, and then for 3 more minutes at high speed after adding all of it. The mixture should be light in color and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl regularly.
- Add vanilla extract and mix.
- Sift the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder) together in a medium bowl, or have them measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture.
- Add the flour mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the cream cheese in 1 part. That means you start and end with the dry ingredients.
- Mix and integrate everything well, but don't beat much at this point. After adding flour, a cake batter should not be beaten too much or it will develop gluten and toughen the baked cake.
- Put the cake batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Add the sliced peaches, overlapping them and covering the batter. It might look like too many peaches but it's not.
- Drop teaspoons of the topping mixture (instructions below) on top of the peaches. Lightly spread the mounds but don't cover the whole thing. There should be space for the cake to grow.
- Sprinkle with the extra teaspoon of sugar.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until it rises, the topping dries, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Pound cakes are dense so make sure it's fully baked. If the top is browning too quickly but the middle is not done, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum paper and continue baking.
- Cool on a wire rack and remove carefully from the pan, removing the strip of paper.
For the cobbler topping:
- Mix flour and sugar in a small bowl.
- Add the melted butter and milk and stir until combined. Don't beat or mix too much.
Notes
Organization: read the recipe first and make sure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. Use a thermometer inside the oven to check that the temperature is right. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Peaches: I encourage fresh fruit, especially when in season, but you can use frozen. It's a great recipe for not-yet ripe or mushy peaches. Nectarines - they are very similar to peaches but have thinner skin that you really don't need to peel off. At least I don't. Other stone fruit - this is a recipe that does very well with plums, cherries, and apricots.
No cream cheese? You can use regular sour cream or Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese, the same amount. The crumb will be a tad less dense and a smidge tangier. They both add great moisture and tenderness.
Light brown sugar - use it instead of white sugar for a caramel flavor and darker look.
Topping - instead of milk, you can use plain yogurt or buttermilk.
How to store this cake: this cake keeps well for a day or two (always well wrapped) at room temperature if the space is not hot and then in the fridge for 2 more days before starting to dry up. Fruit starts to ferment at some point and that will ruin the whole cake. You can freeze it for a month, always covered in plastic wrap and aluminum foil or in an airtight container.
Glaze: this is a good cake to drizzle with a simple powdered sugar glaze if you like a sweet coffee cake feeling and flavor. You can use milk or orange juice.
