These super moist and tender peach upside down mini cakes are bursting with peaches in every bite. Easy to make, this recipe is a keeper for that indulgent peach season!
Why you’ll love this peach cake recipe:
Peaches are in season!!! I love peach season SO much. And these individual peach upside down cakes are one of my absolute favorites.
- Bursts of juicy fruits in every bite – thanks to overload of peach cubes in the batter.
- You won’t even miss the frosting, as these mini cakes are topped with brown sugar glazed peach slices.
- Plus, effortlessly beautiful presentation!
How to make peach upside down cupcake:
While it might look a bit complicated, it’s truly easy to make these mini cakes. Watch how I made this cake on Instagram.
1. To prepare the topping:
- Slice 2 peaches into thin slices, then cube the rest for the batter. No need to peel the peaches!
- Spray a standard size muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Divide brown sugar and butter into 12 equal parts and place in to 12 muffin cups.
- Then arrange 3 slices of peach in each muffin cup over the butter and brown sugar. (Fan them out nicely! It’ll look pretty once cooked. ;))
Tip
Yes, you can slice 1 tablespoon of butter into 12 pieces.
Cut a tablespoon of butter in two equal sizes, then cut each one into two equal pieces. Then finely, slice each piece into 3 equal parts.
2. To make the batter
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, whip butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then add egg and vanilla extract and beat for another 3 minutes. It should be super fluffy and white. This step is key for soft and fluffy cake!
- Now, add half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and beat until just about combined. Then stir in buttermilk followed by the remaining flour mixture. Mix until just combined and no dry flour patches is visible.
- Fold in chopped peaches into the batter.
3. Bake
- Divide the cake batter into the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake the mini cakes for about 25 minutes at 350°F, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes, and then run a butterknife (or a small offset spatula) around the edges to release the sides.
- Place a wire rack on top of the muffin pan and invert it to release the cupcakes. Be gentle removing the pan. Sometimes, peach slices fall slowly.
Tip
I love using my large cookie scoop for filling the cupcake pans. It’s mess-free and yields uniform cakes.
Serve warm peach upside down cake topped with vanilla ice cream!
Buttermilk substitutes:
I realize not everyone have buttermilk in the fridge like we do. (We sure love our buttermilk pancakes!) However, there’re 2 easy substitutes for buttermilk:
- Option #1: 1/3 cup sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt + milk (or water) to make 1/2 cup. Stir well before using.
- Option #2: 1/2 cup of milk + 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice (or white vinegar). Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes for milk to curdle.
Readers Feedback and Variations:
This recipe is LOVED by many, many people!! And I get ton of feedback and variations. So here’re some awesome feedbacks and variations from those who tried it.
- People love how these little cakes are not too sweet.
- Cinnamon is very popular addition!
- Besides peach, this recipe also works great with plums, blueberries, and nectarines.
- Fresh macerated peaches make a fabulous topping along with vanilla ice cream!
- Chopped pecans were a great addition.
- Frozen peaches didn’t caramelize, but it was still delicious.
- Canned peaches worked good as well.
- Egg replacement per Maïna: 1 heaping tablespoon of ground flax seeds + 3 tablespoon of water, whipped together and let to thicken for 5 minutes. Worked like a charm!
If you made this recipe, we’d love to hear your feedback as well!!
Storing Tips:
Store the peach upside down cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days, if they last that long anyway. 🙂
These cakes don’t freeze well.
If you love peaches, try this grilled peach and mascarpone ice cream!!
Peach Upside Down Mini Cakes
Ingredients
For topping:
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) unsalted butter cold
- 6 teaspoons (5 g) light brown sugar
For cake batter:
- 3 fresh peaches Note 1
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (130 g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (90 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk at room temperature (Note 2)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177° C). Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
To prepare the topping:
- Cut 1 tablespoon of butter into 12 equal parts. (TIP: cold butter is easier to cut.) Place each butter piece in 12 muffin cups.
- Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of brown sugar into each muffin cup.
- Slice 1-2 peaches into thin slices. Arrange about 3 slices into the bottom of each muffin pan.
To make the cake batter:
- Cut the remaining peaches into small cubes. You should get about 1 cup of cubed peaches. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and beat it for another 2-3 minutes, or until well combined. The mixture should be fluffy and white. (Note: It's totally normal for the mixture to curdle right after adding egg, but keep mixing and it'll turn nice and fluffy!)
- Add half of the flour mixture into the batter, beat for 1 minute on low speed.
- Stir in the buttermilk and beat for another minute.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until combined. Don't overmix the batter, or it'll make tough cake.
- Fold in the cubed peaches.
- Divide the batter into 12 muffin pan cups. (TIP: This large cookie scoop makes this step super easy – one scoop of batter in each muffin cup.)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes. Then carefully run a butter knife around the edges to release the cake from the sides. Now, place a wire rack over the muffin pan and carefully turn the pan upside down to remove the cakes.
- Serve the mini cakes warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Video
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in August, 2014.
Your print recipe did not work for me.
Could you give a little more detail, Jolene? What happens when you click on print button? And what device are you on?
Can this recipe be made into a cake rather then individual mini cakes?
Hi, Louise. Yes, someone had made this recipe into a square cake and it turned out beautiful. I personally haven’t tried it though.
Can you use tin peaches 🍑 instead ?
Hi, Paulina. I have no experience with canned peaches, so I can give a proper advice.
These had a really good taste and I made exactly as per recipe. I used the disposable muffin tins and I don’t have a ‘large’ cookie scoop (only a small or med size). Since I am a detailed person, apx how large is your large scoop? I think I overfilled the cups yet I still had way more batter, enough to make 16 cakes. I baked the full time and pulled a clean pick but still had a small taste of uncooked batter. Still, yum! I topped with whipped cream. Thank you for such a delicious recipe as written.
Next time I will use almond extract. Also, I will do the first layer of sliced peaches, top with batter then do a second layer of peaches and follow up with the batter. I thought the diced peaches in the batter seemed to disappear, (perhaps I cut into too small a dice). I will also sprinkle with Demerara Sugar and use my Brulee torch to crystalize it on top. A measure for the amount of your large scoop (3 tablespoons or 1/4 cup?) would be helpful as would the size of dice. From the photo, the dice looks like 1/4 inch?
Hi, BootzB! First, thank you so much for your feedback. SO glad you enjoyed the cakes. I thought I’m the detailed person, but you win! I cut the peaches for the batter into pretty small pieces (and you’re right, about 1/4-inch), the idea is to have those peaches “melt” into the batter infusing with flavor and keeping it moist. As for the large cookies scoop, according to the product description, it holds 3 tablespoons. Hope this helps. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and feedback!
Oh, thank you, Shinee, for responding! As part of the 16 cakes I mentioned above, I used Swerve, brown sugar substitute for the topping. My BIL is a diabetic so I wanted to offer him a ‘reduced sugar’ option, it was as delicious as the ‘full sugar version! Also, I just bought more peaches so I am going to try my ‘sliced peaches in the batter’ version… Your recipe as written (and my result) was a big hit with those who were in attendance at our July 4th celebrations! Thanks again for the awesome recipe and your indulgence with ‘my need to know’ (it wears me out, sometimes) LoL.
Can you use frozen peaches? I had a few fresh ones that I sliced and froze because they wouldn’t get used before they went bad.
Hi, Barb. I haven’t tested this recipe with frozen peaches.
The tops of mine didn’t come out with the rest, I made sure they were done all the way. Toothpick came out clean. But definitely not as pretty as yours. Any suggestions?
I use this, makes removing a baked cake easy peasy! (Especially a Bundt Cake)
Magic Bake Release:
1/2 cup (62 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (85 g) shortening
1/2 cup (118 ml) vegetable or canola oil
Use a mixer to blend together.
Use a pastry brush to prep your pans with a layer.
Sub unsweetened cocoa powder if making an unfrosted chocolate cake.
Keep on hand in Fridge.
Keep the ingredient amounts equal if making a larger or smaller batch.
This is the most flavorful, tender and yummy peach cake I have ever made. Thank you. I would like to try the recipe in a larger cake. I think the chopped peaches take it over the top. Have you made this as a standard cake?
Hi, Helen. So happy you love the recipe. I just saw your GRANDE version of this cake, and it looks amazing. Thank you for your feedback and sharing the photo!!
Can’t wait to make these later todsy! my ? Is divide 1. Tblsp of butter into 12 muffin cups? really ?
Hi, Bea. Yeah, really. I know, it’s meticulous, but promise it’s not that bad. Hope you’ll love these mini cakes as much as we do.
HOLLY PEACHES! These were so good. I am still fairly new at baking, my upside down peach part got stuck on the bottom. But I hope it will get better as I keep practicing. Worth the pounds.
I made these and they are beautiful! Haven’t tasted them they are cooling. I did put a dash of cinnamon on them . Followed recipe and they turned out beautiful!
Can you use frozen peach slices?
Hi, Barb. I haven’t tried frozen peaches, and I’m afraid it’ll be too watery.
Do you know what the conversions would be to make this keto?
Hi, Angela. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with keto diet.