Peach Upside Down Cake Recipe

5 from 10 votes

This Peach Upside Down Cake uses fresh peaches cooked down in a caramel sauce as the base and is topped with vanilla cake and baked in the oven.

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Resting Time15

Total Time1 35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, south, Southern

Servings: servings

Calories: 401kcal

½ cup unsalted butter
3 cups fresh peaches peeled and sliced (or 2 10-oz packages frozen, sliced peaches, thawed and drained)
3/4 cup brown sugar packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the rack in the middle position.
Set a 10-inch cast iron pan over medium heat and place the butter in it. Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat.
Carefully arrange the peaches in the bottom of the pan coated in butter. You can do this in any pattern you’d like!
In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and salt. Sprinkle that mixture over the peaches. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a large bowl and hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl down in between additions. Beat in the vanilla.
Add the dry mixture and buttermilk in three increments, mixing on low speed until fully combined.
Gently dollop and spread the batter over the peaches. Be careful, the more you move things around the more you will change the arrangement of your peaches. Place the cast iron pan on a sheet pan and place on the middle rack of the oven.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
Run a butter knife around the edge of the cake in the pan. Unmold the cake by inverting the cast iron pan over a serving plate, with a sheet pan underneath and gently lifting the pan away from the cake. A couple of peaches may slip off, but just put them back in place. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream!

You can bake this peach upside down cake in a 9-inch cake pan too. Just melt the butter for the peaches in a separate dish first.
Keep your peach slices close together, no spaces. That way, you’ll get a smooth caramelized topping when it flips.
Don’t swirl the batter around too much. It’ll shift the peaches, and we want that top looking clean and pretty!
Use a low cake stand or plate for flipping. That's how you avoid cracks or slipping accidents.
Flip it while it’s still warm. If it cools too much, the caramel sticks to the pan instead of the cake.
Move fast! Hold the plate tight, flip in one solid motion, and let gravity do the rest. No yanking, boos.

How to Store Peach Upside Down Cake

Fridge: Store your peach upside down cake in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. It'll stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Wrap the cake in a couple layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. Just thaw in the fridge before serving... If it even makes it that long!