Peach Skillet Cake is a dessert made with sweetened fresh peaches that are poured over a batter mixture and topped with turbinado sugar. For another recipe using fresh peaches, try my Peach Crisp. If you want to try the best pound cake ever, try my Peach Pound Cake!
Peach Cobbler?
You may have noticed I called this Peach Skillet Cake instead of cobbler. It is absolutely a cobbler by definition, but when it comes to Peach Cobbler, people have VERY specific recipes in mind – buttermilk biscuits on top. I called it Peach Cake to avoid any confusion.
This dessert starts with my Strawberry Cobbler batter. Then, softened fresh peaches that have been sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon are added to the skillet. Finally, the dessert is sprinkled with turbinado sugar to add a touch more sweetness.
Ingredients
There are three parts to this dessert–the batter, peach mixture, and sugar topping.
Peaches: Summertime is peak peach season which means it’s the perfect time to make peach desserts! I peeled the peaches for this recipe, and I will give you some tricks to make it as easy as possible. Or, you could leave the skins on if you don’t mind that.
Turbinado Sugar: Turbinado Sugar is a sugar that would fall between granulated sugar and light brown sugar in both color and flavor. It has a yellowish-brown color and with some molasses content left in the turbinado sugar (which gives it the color), it will provide a slight butterscotch flavor and has larger and coarser grains. If you can’t find turbinado sugar, you can use granulated sugar for the topping.
How to Choose Ripe Peaches
It’s best to use ripe peaches for Peach Skillet Cake. Unripe peaches will cause the dessert to not be as sweet. To choose ripe peaches, gently press the top of a peach near where the stem was. If it gives, it is ripe and ready to use. In addition, look for peaches that have bright colors without any green. Store peaches stem-side down at room temperature.
If you can’t wait for the peaches to ripen, you can increase the amount of sugar in the peach mixture by 1-2 tablespoons.
Peeling and Pitting Peaches
Once you have chosen the perfect peaches, it’s time to prepare them for the dessert. As I stated above, I peeled the peaches before coring and slicing them. You do not have to peel the peaches; that is your preference. To peel the peaches, use a paring knife to make a few slits in the peel. Then, the peel usually comes right off.
Another method to peel the peaches is to blanch the peaches. To blanch the peaches, get a pot of water boiling. Put the peaches in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Then, use a slotted spoon to immediately place the peaches in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. The skins should easily come off with a paring knife (or even just peeled off) after they have been put in the ice water.
To pit the peach, cut into it until you reach the pit. Cut around it and pull it out. Then, slice the peaches to be ready to use in this Peach Skillet Cake.
Can I Use Frozen or Canned Peaches?
Yes, you can substitute frozen (thawed) peaches that have been well-drained or canned peaches, which also need to be well-drained. You can use the same amount as fresh peaches. Generally, one pound of frozen or canned peaches is equivalent to three peaches. However, I would recommend frozen peaches over canned; canned peaches could cause a more ‘jammy’ dessert.
Can I Use a Different Pan?
There really is a difference between making this peach cake in a cast-iron skillet versus a 9×13-inch baking dish. A cast-iron skillet heats more evenly than a baking dish and also gives this dessert a nice, crispy crust. But, you can definitely make this in a baking dish if that is what you have on hand.
Peach Skillet Cake
Ingredients
Batter
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113g) butter, melted
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (245 g) milk
Peach Mixture
- 5-6 ripe peaches, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 5 cups)
- â…“ cup (67 g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Toppings
- 1½ tablespoons turbinado sugar
- whipped topping, optional
- ice cream, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with nonstick cooking spray. (You could also use a 9×13-inch baking dish.)
Batter
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Pour the batter into the skillet.
Peach Mixture
- Add the sliced peaches, brown sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon to a saucepan over medium heat and stir to combine, simmering for 2-3 minutes until sugar is dissolved and peaches are softened slightly. Add the peach mixture evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 45 minutes. (Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place it on the bottom of the oven to catch any drips.)
Sugar Topping
- After 45 minutes, sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top and return to oven. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve topped with ice cream or whipped topping.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Can you use frozen or canned peaches (drained) in the peach skillet cake
Love your peach recipes.
What is turbino sugar?
Turbina do sugar is raw sugar. Usually has coarser granules and is golden in color. If you don’t have ant you could substitute with brown sugar. Turbinado sugar doesn’t stuck together like brown sugar does, it’s more like plain white sugar.
This was delightful! My peaches were extremely ripe so I added all the ingredients but did not cook them on the stove and it still turned out perfectly. I will be making this again. (Plus I love anything baked in an iron skillet!)
A number of these recipes I remember my Grandmother making. It was a sweet surprise to find your recipes. T Y
Great easy to make recipe & a new favorite dessert in our house. Used frozen peaches I had put up from The Peach Truck I had gotten a few months ago & tasted great! Thank you so much!
When you used the frozen peaches did you defrost them first or bake the cake with them frozen?
Thank you!!
This is what the post says:
“Can I Use Frozen or Canned Peaches?
Yes, you can substitute frozen (thawed) peaches that have been well-drained or canned peaches, which also need to be well-drained. You can use the same amount as fresh peaches. Generally, one pound of frozen or canned peaches is equivalent to three peaches. However, I would recommend frozen peaches over canned; canned peaches could cause a more ‘jammy’ dessert.”
So easy and so good! I found some great peaches that had to be eaten asap. They were ripe and fragrant and almost too soft. Since I’m the only one in the household who will eat whole peaches raw, I knew I needed to toss them into something baked so they wouldn’t go to waste. This was a perfect recipe to use up all 6 peaches. I only made one tweak to the recipe: I browned the melted butter. Otherwise made it exactly as written. Wonderfully easy, tasty recipe. Great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. (Especially awesome when served with a small scoop of Bourbon Praline ice cream!) Definitely keeping this one on file for the next time I find great peaches.
Should I pre heat the skillet before putting the batter in?
Nope.
Do you preheat the skillet or just add batter to cold skillet? This sounds delicious !
It is a cold skillet.
Can I use almond milk?
I haven’t made the substitution so can’t speak to its effectiveness.