My delicious peach cobbler pound cake recipe with flambéed peaches is a celebration show stopper! Sweet peaches, warm spices, and brown sugar swirl around in rich buttery pound cake, then topped with a salted honey caramel. Then, to take it completely over the top? Flambé peaches, set them on fire with a little bourbon! Oh yeah, this dessert is the perfect way to celebrate whether it's peach season or the holiday season!
Being the true southern belle I am, I had to bring two of my favorite desserts together: moist delicious pound cake and peach cobbler.
Peach cobbler is one of my all time favorite summer desserts, so leveling up a classic pound cake with swirls of buttery brown sugar, juicy peaches, and caramel sounded like something I needed to bring home for Thanksgiving this year.
I made a creamy honey caramel, so sweet and smooth (and definitely delicious on top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream!).
But then, you guys know...I'm on #teamExtra. I love a show stopping dessert. I love impressive recipes that are easy to accomplish.
So I put some sliced peaches a little bath in butter and brown sugar and my husband set it on fire! Glorious. Definitely extra.
My pound cake is super moist being made with buttermilk and mascarpone (Italy's smoother, creamier, velvetier answer to cream cheese), studded with peaches prepped just like they are in my peach cobblers, and buttery brown sugar is swirled throughout the cake batter.
It's a restaurant quality dessert that you can make at home, it seems wild but the steps are simple and easy to follow. If you're looking to impress your friends and family this summer or this holiday season, this is the cake to make.
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What is Pound Cake?
Pound cake is a rich, dense cake that originates from Britain back in the 1700's. Because most people were illiterate and there were no leaveners (baking soda or powder), bakers famously used a simple equation: a pound of each ingredient butter, flour, sugar, eggs to make huge pound cakes that could feed many families.
As time has gone on, it has been modified to add leaveners for a lighter cake and no longer uses a pound of everything. They're also regularly baked in bundt pans or loaf pans and are very, very popular in the South. You just aren't a southern belle if you can't make a moist pound cake!
Equipment Needed
A large stand mixer. This will be doing all the mixing work for us, creaming the butter, mixing the cake batter, and making our peach cobbler pound cake a breeze!
Bundt cake pan. You'll need a 12 cup bundt pan, I used my Nordic Ware Skyline Bundt Pan for these photos. Unfortunately, it seems that the pan is no longer in retail, but I love my Blossom Bundt Pan for this since the petals hold the caramel so well!
Wire rack. Finish cooling your cake by flipping it onto a wire rack for complete air circulation.
A large saucepan for the caramel sauce.
Cast iron skillet to make the peach flambé syrup.
Ingredients
For the peach pound cake, you have a short list of simple ingredients!
Cake Flour. All purpose flour can work as well, but I like using cake flour for a lighter pound cake. Cake flour is a finely-milled low protein flour. Less protein means less gluten, so the cake stays light, fluffy, and tender.
Unsalted Butter. Can't be a buttery cake without it, right? We are using 4 sticks of butter just for the cake portion. It's pound cake, not kale, honey.
Brown Sugar.
Ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. This is where we get that taste of peach cobbler from. It would just be a peach cake without warm spices!
Mascarpone Cheese. This is cream cheese's airier, sweeter, creamier sister from Italy. It is made with butterfat instead of cream and has 75% fat compared to cream cheese's 55%. Not only is she a decadent girl, she's easy to find in your local grocery stores nowadays! And yes, you can use cream cheese if that's all you can find.
Granulated Sugar.
Buttermilk. This is what gives us a seriously moist cake! Sour cream also works, but I love the tang of buttermilk with the sweet mascarpone.
Peaches. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn't need to be peach season to make it. Canned peaches, frozen peaches, fresh peaches are all useable here, just make sure to thoroughly drain the liquid from canned and thawed peaches. I used canned because I don't like spending time blanching and peeling peaches!
Vanilla extract.
Baking Powder. Make sure you use baking POWDER (not soda!) that is aluminum free, otherwise you could end up with a metallic taste in your pound cake.
Salted Honey Caramel Sauce Ingredients
More Butter. You know what they say, 'More buttah, more bettah!'
Granulated Sugar.
Cold Water. I actually used peach juice in mine to add on more peach flavor, but I usually use water when I don't have that on hand.
Honey. Use a honey that you really love, you can taste the flavor!
Heavy Cream. This is what makes our caramel into a smooth and dreamy sauce.
Vanilla Extract.
Nice pinch of kosher salt.
Peach Flambé Ingredients
More Butter. This is a buttery diva. Get into it!
More Brown Sugar. We're creating another buttery brown sugar syrup that'll coat these peaches before we torch them.
Peach Slices. Fresh or canned work here.
Bourbon, Rum, or Brandy. This is what puts the 'flame' in flambé. Use a liquor with high alcohol content, wine or beer won't cut it.
Instructions
A printable recipe card that includes measurements and notes is at the bottom of the post.
Make your caramel.
The thing about making caramel is that she is easy to make but can burn in the blink of an eye. This isn't the time to go chat on the phone or get out of the kitchen, watch that pot so the sugar and water doesn't burn.
After the butter and heavy cream has been whisked in and you have a beautifully browned caramel, add the vanilla and a nice pinch of salt. Let it cool in a mason jar or other heat-safe container while you bake the cake.
Boom, easy breezy honey caramel!
Make the Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
You could simply make the cake itself without the flambe and caramel, it's incredibly simple to do.
Preheat your oven and coat the entire inside of your 12 cup bundt pan with spray baking oil or with magic cake release (it's my holiday baking God-send!).
Cream the sugar, butter, and mascarpone, then add the eggs and vanilla.
Sift the dry ingredients and add them in. Mix in the diced peaches that have been coated in a brown sugar syrup.
Pour into your prepared bundt pan and then swirl the rest of the brown sugar syrup all through the batter. Bake until the cake is done and then let it cool!
Simple, easy, and DELISH.
Peach Flambé Topping!
This is super easy. I usually do this with fresh fruit but canned works as well! Do this right before serving, it only takes a couple of minutes!
In a skillet, melt butter and brown sugar. Cook the peach slices on each side for a minute, then take the pan off the heat. Stir in the bourbon, then spoon the peach mixture over the pound cake.
CAREFULLY use a long neck lighter or culinary torch to set the alcohol on fire. Do this while serving and dim the lights!
If you really want a show, sprinkle cinnamon high over the top of the flames for sparks! Keep your hands away from the fire, okay?
Pro Tips
- You can put the recipe into two loaf pans or two 6 cup bundt pans. Bake for half the time!
- Make sure all of your ingredients for the cake are at room temperature. It's important! That includes the eggs!
- If you're chicken (like I am), keep the cake in the bundt pan to cool completely. This will take longer but it lessens the chance of it sticking to the pan and falling apart while hot (ask me how I know!).
- Only got an electric hand mixer? It'll work in this recipe!
- Want a big flambé? Everclear. Just...be careful.
Storing Instructions
For the best results, wrap the peach pound cake in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days. I do NOT recommend keeping the pound cake in the fridge. What does butter do when it's cold? Harden up!
As long as your home is not sweltering hot, it'll be fine on your countertop. Just move the uneaten flambéed peaches and extra caramel to the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, cake flour does not have any leaveners or additives in it to make it lighter. Cake flour is a finely milled, low-protein flour (having about 8% protein). Less protein means less gluten, so the cake is more tender, fluffy, and light.
Yes, you can! Just know that it will be a little more dense and you will have to be extremely careful to not overmix your batter. We don't want any excess gluten development.
Usually a dense cake is a sign of failure, but pound cakes are SUPPOSED to be a little dense! Using my tricks and tips, between the cake flour, leaveners, buttermilk, and airy mascarpone cheese, you'll have a lighter pound cake that is super moist and tender.
More Delicious Desserts
- Purple Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Toasted Italian Meringue
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Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
Ingredients
Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
- 1 15 oz can sliced peaches in 100% juice, drained well and diced
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 24 tablespoon 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups 354g cake flour
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Salted Honey Caramel
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Flambé Peaches
- 2 large fresh peaches, ripened
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- Pinch of kosher Salt
- ¼ cup dark rum, bourbon, or brandy
Instructions
- Make the Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Prepare the inside of your bundt pan by greasing it with baking spray or thoroughly coating it in magic cake release.
- In a measuring cup, mix the brown sugar, melted butter, and spices. Pour half of the mixture over the diced peaches in a separate bowl, stir to coat the peaches, and set aside. Keep the other half of the brown sugar mixture to swirl into the cake batter.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and mascarpone cheese on high speed for 3 minutes.
- Add the sugar and beat on high speed for one more minute. Then pour in the buttermilk and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add one egg at a time to the wet ingredients, making sure each egg is well incorporated before the next addition.
- In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and stir on low speed until the dry ingredients are ALMOST fully incorporated. DO NOT OVERMIX the batter.
- Using a rubber baking spatula, gently fold in the diced peach mixture from step 3 until the flour is fully incorporated into the batter (no more dry flour to be seen).
- Pour the pound cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Pour the rest of the melted butter and brown sugar mixture over the top of the batter. Use a butter knife to dip and swirl the mixture through the cake batter.
- Lift and tap the pan onto the counter several times to pop any air bubbles within the batter. Bake for 80-90 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out with only a few crumbs and no wet batter.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 2 hours. Gently flip and wiggle the cake out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the Salted Honey Caramel while the Cake is Baking
- Add the sugar, honey, and water to a 3-quart heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat and cook for 4 minutes as the sugar dissolves, turns clear, and starts to bubble. Do not stir, if anything, swirl the pan gently and carefully to move any clumps.
- Continue swirling occasionally and cook until the sugar mixture turns a deep amber color (this can take anywhere from 10-12 minutes). Do not leave the kitchen, it can burn in an instant!
- Carefully add the butter pats, one at a time, and whisk until completely melted. IT WILL BUBBLE UP, DON'T PANIC JUST WHISK.
- Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the heavy cream, whisking until all of the cream has been incorporated. IT WILL BUBBLE UP, DON'T PANIC JUST WHISK.
- Once the caramel has calmed down and the cream is fully incorporated, whisk in the vanilla extract and salt.
- Set aside to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then pour into a heat-safe container until ready to use. It will thicken as it cools.
Flambé Peaches - Make Right Before Serving- In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat.
- Place the peach slices in one layer in the melted sugar mixture. Let cook for 1-2 minutes on each side.
- Turn the heat OFF, then stir in the liquor.
- Serve the Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
- When ready to serve, drizzle the caramel over the cake.
- Next, spoon the boozy peaches over the top of the bundt cake.
- CAREFULLY light the bourbon with a long neck lighter or culinary torch. Keep hands away from fire.
- For sparks, sprinkle cinnamon from high above over the flame. Remember SAFETY FIRST.
Recipe Notes
Storing Instructions
For the best results, wrap the peach pound cake in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days. I do NOT recommend keeping the pound cake in the fridge. What does butter do when it's cold? Harden up!As long as your home is not sweltering hot, it'll be fine on your countertop. Just move the uneaten flambéed peaches and extra caramel to the fridge.
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