This easy recipe for Southern Peach Pound Cake is a summer dessert tradition in our house. Fresh fruit in a buttery rich loaf cake is one of my all time favorites and will hopefully be one of yours now too.
Why this Peach Pound Cake Recipe is Amazing: I take a classic pound cake recipe & add sweet fresh summer peaches & a touch of almond extract for the best tasting loaf cake.
This cake was made out of necessity you might say. Our little peach tree is small but mighty, producing dozens of amazing white peaches each summer & I refuse to let just one go to waste.
This summer we had our fill of eating slices of peach, making cobblers, & ice cream. So I grabbed my step stool to reach for my loaf pan & decided to get baking.
This was inspired by another favorite, Raspberry Lemon Loaf. Both are made from scratch & loaded with fresh fruit. Ok, now we bake!
Ingredients
You will need traditional pound cake ingredients for this recipe. That includes a pound of real butter - one of the reasons this cake has the famous name.
Here are the ingredients needed to make pound cake with peaches.
- Flour - all-purpose works just fine.
- Baking Powder - to help the cake rise & a fluffy airy texture.
- Salted Butter - softened at room temperature.
- White Sugar - to sweeten the batter.
- Eggs - room temperature works best.
- Sour Cream - adds a bit of tang & makes for a wonderful moist texture.
- Peaches - fresh pitted, diced, & skins removed; freestone yellow or white varieties are easiest for prepping.
- Almond Extract - that extra flavor boost pairs so well with peach and makes this a Southern classic.
- Vanilla Extract - classic flavor for pound cake.
See the recipe card for quantities & substitutions/variations.
How to Make Southern Peach Pound Cake
Unlike my recipe for Banana Bread Bundt Cake, this snack cake is not made in a bundt pan. It's baked in a traditional 9x5 loaf pan & sliced into heavenly pieces.
Here are the easy steps for making this recipe:
- Mix the Batter
- Add Peaches & Bake
- Cool & Slice
See the step-by-step instructions with photos below plus the recipe card at the end of the post.
1 - Mix the Batter
Before you begin mixing the batter, make sure the butter & eggs are at room temperature. The butter should be soft enough that if you slightly press it, a small indention will appear.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large mixing bowl whip the soft butter & sugar with a hand mixer (or large stand mixer) on medium speed. Cream together for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl edges with a rubber spatula.
Add the eggs one at a time & mix a few seconds after each one. Scrape down the sides as needed.
Once all the eggs are in, scrape down the sides as needed. Mix on medium for 2-3 minutes until very fluffy, airy, & whipped. It should look like this - this gives the final cake the best texture (it won't be dense).
Add the sour cream and both extracts. Mix with the hand mixer for 30 seconds.
Add the dry ingredients; flour & baking powder. Mix on low for 30 seconds, scraping the sides as needed. DO NOT over mix!
Sprinkle the peaches with a bit of flour and toss to coat. This keeps them from all falling to the bottom of the batter. Fold them into the cake batter.
2 - Add Peaches & Bake
Next, prep the loaf pan with butter & a dusting of flour. I like to use a nonstick 9x5 loaf pan even though I am still prepping it so the cake doesn't stick.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in the oven for 60 minutes. Once a toothpick comes out clean, it is done & ready to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
3 - Cool & Slice
This cake is best served warm but will fall apart if cut too early. It will be hard to wait, I know.
Remove the cake from the pan after the 10 minutes of cooling. Let the cake cool on a wire baking rack for 30 minutes.
Use a long serrated knife, like a bread knife, to cut slices.
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm slices on individual plates. Add a pat of butter or drizzle of honey if desired. It's great served after any of my Southern Recipe favorites.
This is best enjoyed within 1-2 days, while fresh. Leftovers can be stored wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen for up to 30 days.
What to Serve on Pound Cake : if you are peach crazy, top with my homemade peach compote recipe. Or simply add some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe Tips & Behind the Scenes
Here is my recipe for success - including what I learned when testing, funny stories or bloopers, and more.
- #1 Tip - Do Not over mix once you add the flour, it will deflate the whipped batter & make for a dry crumbly cake.
- Freestone peach varieties make pitting & dicing so easy.
- Very ripe peaches will peel easily or try blanching or other methods for peeling them easily.
- Use other stone fruits like nectarines, plums, or apricots.
- Leftovers are great reheated in a toaster oven & slathered with butter.
- Though this is traditionally served a dessert, no one will judge if you have a slice for breakfast with tea or coffee or nibble a piece for a midday snack.
- What type of peach did you use in this recipe?
Southern Peach Pound Cake
Equipment
- 9x5x3 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sour cream full-fat
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ½ tablespoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups diced fresh peaches skins removed
- 1 tablespoon flour additional for dusting peaches
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and have a rack in the center of the oven.Prep the 9x5 loaf pan with butter & flour.
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter & sugar. With a hand mixer (or large stand mixer) on medium speed cream together until they are smooth & fluffy; 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl edges with a rubber spatula.
- Add the eggs one at a time & mix a few seconds after each one. Scrape down the sides as needed. It is combined where there are no streaks of white or yellow remaining.
- Add the sour cream and both extracts. Mix with the hand mixer for 1 minute, scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients; flour & baking powder. Mix on low for 30 seconds, scraping the sides as needed. DO NOT OVER MIX or the batter will be tough versus light & airy. Once there are not streaks of flour showing, it is ready.
- Add the diced peaches to small bowl, toss with the additional flour. This dusting helps the peaches not all sink to the bottom of the batter in the pan while baking.Fold the peaches gently into the batter. Try and get them evenly distributed best you can.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake in the preheated oven at 350°F in the center rack of the oven.
- The pound cake takes about 60 minutes. It is ready when the edges are golden & the center has no jiggle - test with a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan. Next, carefully invert the loaf out of the pan onto a cooling rack for it to cool an additional 30 minutes.
- Once cool and set, slice & serve on individual plates. Enjoy on its own or top with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
- Leftovers can be stored wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- It can also be frozen for up to 30 days.
- Omit the almond extract for anyone with a nut allergy.
- Use frozen peaches instead of fresh - defrost, drain (remove as much liquid as possible), & dice.
- Try other stone fruits instead of peaches; nectarines, plums, or apricots.
Nutrition
More Peach Dessert Recipes
Here are some similar sweet recipes where fresh peaches are the star:
Esme Slabbert says
Love the classic version with peach added. Delicious looking, for sure.
Found your post on Create, Bake, Grow & Gather Party.
Jennifer Wise says
This just sounds heavenly! Thanks for sharing this post with us at the Will Blog for Comments #47 linkup. Hope to see you sharing more next time at #48, which opens Monday.