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.
Has anyone made this in a mini cupcake pan? If so how much butter did you put in the bottom and how long did you bake it?
Hi, Lauren. I haven’t tried mini cupcake pan, but I’m afraid it’d be too small. If you really have to, you can just skip the upside down peach, and simply bake mini peach muffins/cakes.
They were delicious & easy to make. I had some problems unmolding them so the tops weren’t as pretty.
Thank you for your feedback, Earlene. So happy you loved it.
Can you freeze these?
Easy to make and very tasty
Yay, so happy you tried and loved this recipe, Marilyn! Thank you for your feedback!
This were outstandingly delicious! ! My guest were impressed by them. I baked them in ramekins for bigger portions and served it with vanilla ice cream. I love that they were not too sweat and came out so fluffy. I didn’t use buttermilk, instead, I use the sour cream method. I really recommend this recipe if you want to score a homer run with your guests!!
Hello, Ariana. Can you please explain your “sour cream method?” I always have sour cream on hand, but never buy buttermilk. I’d love to swap the buttermilk for sour cream in this recipe.
We followed the recipe exactly except for the sugar. We used half of the brown and white sugar in the recipe. Using cooking spray made getting them out of the muffin pan very easy. They are so delicious and just the right amount of sweetness. A scoop of vanilla ice cream makes it such a treat! We also used this recipe and substituted blueberries for the peaches and they were also really good. We want to try apples next. This is an easy recipe!
Hi, Kieran. Thank you so much for trying my recipe and sharing your feedback! So happy to hear you loved the cake and tried with blueberries as well!
I was also thinking these would be great made with apple and then (after baking) drizzled with a sticky toffee sauce to serve for dessert with some ice cream or cream on the side.
That sounds amazing, Karen. Let me know if you give that a try!
I have to size cupcake tins Looks like you used jumbo size Is this correct
Hi, Rita. No, mine are regular size pans.
I made this recipe using delicious farm-fresh peaches. I felt the cake part was rather dense, but it was moist. In the future, I think I will add extra diced peaches to the batter and I will slice the peaches that are swirled on top a little thicker. I want all that peachy goodness to hit me right in the tastebuds! I served each little cake with vanilla ice cream and fresh macerated peaches spooned over top. My children and grands devoured them. The leftover cakes were eaten for breakfast the next morning with slathers of whipped cream. Thanks for a tasty recipe.
Hi, Carole. Thank you for making my recipe and sharing your feedback!!! So helpful! I made this again this morning (first time this season!) and it was so good! And you can add as much peach as your heart desires. I love your idea of serving it with whipped cream!! Thank you again for your review!
Has anyone tried to freeze the cakes after baking? I’m curious how they would thaw, mushy or not?
Hi, Dawn. Since I haven’t tried freezing it, I can’t provide a good advice. I’m planning on making it next week, and I’ll put one in the freezer to test. 😉
We are a nut loving family so I added a pecan half at the bottom a and chopped pecans in the mixture. They turned out amazing.
Thank you, Vandana!! So happy you enjoyed the recipe.
I made with frozen peaches! They came out good but didn’t really “carmelize” on the bottom and when I took them out the peaches did not stay attached. I did just pu the peaches on top and ate them that way and they were still good! Next time I might use cup cake liners.