One of my favorite things about summer is peach season. I love desserts and usually my go-to peach recipe is a cobbler or crumble. Today, we’re combining a soft fluffy vanilla cake with a peach crumble and creating a 2-in-1 summer dessert – peach crumble upside-down cake!
I really love upside down cakes, it feels like a lot like a surprise. There aren’t a lot of fruits that bake well on an upside down cake and retain their flavors perfectly. My favorites are oranges and peaches.
Crumble vs. Cobbler vs. Crisp
Crumbles are fruit based desserts with a base layer of fruit filling, topped off with a crumbly topping of flour, butter and sugar.
A cobbler is typical to a fruit pie without a bottom crust. The fruit filling is placed at the bottom and the top is covered with a pie or biscuit dough.
Crisps are very similar to crumbles with the main difference being the addition of rolled oats to the streusel topping.
Some of the most famous fruit desserts in these categories are apple crumble, peach cobbler and strawberry crisp.
Canned vs. Fresh Peaches
Honestly, you can use canned or fresh peaches. I went for fresh peaches to celebrate the start of the summer. But if you’d like to make this cake any time of the year, canned peaches work just as well.
ALSO TRY THIS MOCHA BANANA LOAF!
How To Make A Peach Crumble Upside-Down Cake?
This recipe has multiple layers to it and that’s what makes it such a delight to indulge in. Each layer adds to the flavor and aesthetic of the cake.
- Caramel Peach Bottom: We start off with a base of peach slices drizzled with a melted sugar caramel. Not only does this add a stunning color to the cake after baking and flipping, but it also saves the bottom of the cake from getting soggy from the peach juice. You can use canned or freshly sliced peaches.
- Cinnamon Crumble Streusel: In the middle of the cake, we will add a layer of cinnamon crumble streusel. This gives our cake a beautiful swirly layer and also the wonderful flavors of a crumble. This layer is added between the cake batter.
- Vanilla Sponge: The cake batter will be a regular vanilla sponge which we will divide into two parts. The first half of the batter goes directly over the caramel peach layer and the second half goes over cinnamon crumble layer.
In order of preparing each layer, I would suggest preparing them in the order listed above.
What’s The Best Way To Have This Cake?
Because of the fact that this dessert is a cross between a cake and a crumble, you can pair it with both ice cream and fresh cream. I love having cakes with a drizzle of fresh cream or a swirl of whipped cream. But a scoop of vanilla ice cream goes too well with this peach crumble upside-down cake, too.
TIP: If you want to avoid dealing with a domed cake, just so it is perfectly level and easy to flip upside down, try this simple hack. Bake your cake at a lower temperature for longer!