Peach Gooey Butter Cake
If you have a pile of fresh summer peaches sitting on your counter, this Peach Gooey Butter Cake is what you need to make with them.
It starts with a soft brown butter cinnamon cake, gets loaded with a homemade peach filling, and is topped with the richest gooey butter layer. A dusting of powdered sugar finishes the whole thing off, but if you’re serving it warm, I highly recommend adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream and an extra spoonful of that peach filling on top.
It’s gooey, buttery, loaded with fresh peaches, and basically what would happen if peach cobbler and gooey butter cake became one dessert.
Why You’ll Love This Peach Gooey Butter Cake
There are a lot of peach cakes out there, but this one is all about the textures. You get a soft cake on the bottom, pockets of juicy peaches, a thick layer of peach filling through the center, and that almost custardy gooey butter topping.
And because we’re using the peach filling in multiple ways, you get plenty of peach flavor without adding so much fresh fruit directly to the batter that the cake becomes wet or heavy.
A few more reasons I love it:
- It’s made with fresh peaches. Perfect for peach season or using up peaches after a trip to the orchard.
- Brown butter makes the cake SO good. It adds a toasted, nutty flavor underneath all of that sweet peach.
- No decorating required. Powdered sugar, ice cream, peach filling. Done.
- You can serve it warm. There’s no waiting hours for this one to chill and set.
- That extra peach filling doesn’t go to waste. Spoon it over the finished cake with vanilla ice cream and thank me later.
The Layers
There are three main components to this Peach Gooey Butter Cake, and each one brings something different.
Brown Butter Cinnamon Cake
The bottom starts with a simple brown butter cake flavored with cinnamon, vanilla, and the tiniest touch of almond extract.
The almond isn’t there to make the cake taste like almond—it just works incredibly well with fresh peaches and gives the cake a little more depth.
Before the first bake, I dollop peach filling directly over the batter. Don’t bother swirling it in. The peaches settle into the cake beautifully on their own.
Homemade Peach Filling
This is where most of the fresh peach flavor comes from.
Fresh diced peaches are cooked with granulated and brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt until they’re tender but still holding their shape. And here’s something important to know while making this cake: peaches can release a LOT of liquid.
You don’t want to keep cooking them indefinitely just to reduce all of that juice. By the time the liquid cooks away, your beautiful peach pieces can turn to mush.
Once the peaches are tender, take a look at the pan. If they’re swimming in a lot of thin peach juice, carefully spoon or pour some of it off. You still want plenty of liquid coating the peaches—it should look juicy and saucy—just not soupy.
From there, a small cornstarch slurry thickens the remaining peach juices into a glossy filling. Vanilla gets stirred in after the pan comes off the heat.
Don’t worry about removing an exact amount of liquid. Fresh peaches vary so much in juiciness that the amount will be different from batch to batch. Use the texture as your guide: tender peach pieces surrounded by enough thickened juice to coat them generously without having a pool of liquid at the bottom.
Gooey Butter Layer
And then comes the best part.
The topping is made with melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, powdered sugar, flour, and heavy cream. It bakes into a rich, soft layer that stays slightly gooey in the center.
One little trick makes a difference here: don’t pour the gooey topping onto the cake the second it comes out of the oven.
Instead, let the partially baked cake sit while you make the gooey butter mixture. That little cooling period helps keep the layers from immediately seeping into each other.
How Do I Know When Gooey Butter Cake Is Done?
This isn’t a cake you want to bake until the center is completely firm.
After the final bake, the edges should look set and lightly golden and the center should be mostly set with a slight jiggle remaining.
That jiggle is what gives you the gooey texture once the cake has had a chance to cool.
If you keep baking until the entire center looks completely firm, you’ll lose some of what makes gooey butter cake so good.
Serve This One Warm
You can let this cake cool completely if you want really clean slices, but that’s not necessarily how I think it’s best.
Give it about 30 minutes to cool, dust the entire top generously with powdered sugar, and cut yourself a warm slice.
Then add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon some of the reserved peach filling over the top.
The cold ice cream melting into the warm gooey cake with those jammy peaches is the whole point.
More Peach Desserts
If you’re baking your way through peach season like I am, don’t stop here.
Try my Peaches and Cream Filled Donuts next. They’re soft homemade donuts stuffed with a peaches-and-cream filling and another really fun way to turn fresh summer peaches into something a little over the top.
Peaches and Cream Filled Donuts
Tips for the Best Peach Gooey Butter Cake
Use flavorful peaches. Because peaches are the star here, bland or underripe peaches aren’t going to magically become intensely peachy in the oven. Ripe peaches with a little firmness are ideal.
Let the peach filling cool. You don’t want piping-hot filling going into the cake batter.
Don’t swirl the peaches into the cake. Dollop them over the batter and leave them alone.
Make the gooey layer while the first layer cools. This naturally gives the cake a short rest before you assemble everything.
Don’t smooth the gooey topping. It’s thin enough that once you pour it over the peaches, it will spread across the pan on its own.
Watch the jiggle, not just the clock. Ovens vary. Start checking the cake toward the earlier end of the baking window and pull it once the edges are set and the center has just a slight jiggle.
Don’t skip the powdered sugar. Besides adding that classic gooey butter cake finish, it makes the top of this cake look so pretty once it’s sliced.
Can I Make Peach Gooey Butter Cake Ahead of Time?
Absolutely. You can make the peach filling ahead of time and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to bake.
The entire cake can also be made ahead and refrigerated. When you’re ready to serve, gently warm individual slices and add fresh powdered sugar afterward.
Keep the reserved peach filling separate so you can warm it slightly before spooning it over the cake.
Peach Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add the 700 g (about 5 cups) peaches, 70 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar, 30 g (2½ tablespoons) brown sugar, 10 g (2 teaspoons) lemon juice, and 2 g (¼ teaspoon) kosher salt to a medium saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are tender but still hold their shape, about 10–15 minutes. The peaches will release quite a bit of liquid as they cook.
- If there is a lot of thin liquid surrounding the peaches once they are tender, carefully spoon or pour off some of the excess. You want enough liquid remaining to generously coat the peaches and create a saucy filling, but the peaches should not be swimming in juice. Don't continue cooking just to evaporate all of the excess liquid, or the peaches can become too soft.
- Stir together the 6 g (2 teaspoons) cornstarch and 6 g (1¼ teaspoons) cold water until smooth. Stir the slurry into the peaches and cook for another 60–90 seconds, until thick and glossy.
- Remove from the heat and stir in 5 g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract.
- Transfer the filling to a bowl and allow it to cool completely. You’ll use 100 g (about ⅓ cup) in the cake, 200 g (about ⅔ cup) between the cake and gooey layers, and 150 g (about ½ cup) for serving.
- Add 85 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter to a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring frequently, as the butter melts and foams. Continue cooking until the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and the butter smells toasted and nutty.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl, scraping in all of the browned milk solids. Cool for 10–15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together 90 g (¾ cup) all-purpose flour, 3 g (¾ teaspoon) baking powder, 1.5 g (¼ teaspoon) kosher salt, and 2 g (¾ teaspoon) cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the cooled brown butter with 115 g (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar.
- Whisk in the 1 large egg, 5 g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract, and ⅛ teaspoon almond extract until smooth.
- Whisk in 45 g (3 tablespoons) whole milk.
- Fold in the dry ingredients just until combined.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Dollop 100 g (about ⅓ cup) peach filling evenly over the top. Do not swirl the peaches into the batter.
- Bake for 18–20 minutes, until the cake is mostly set with a slight jiggle remaining in the center.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool slightly while you make the gooey butter layer. Keep the oven at 350°F (177°C).
- While the cake layer is cooling, whisk together 140 g (10 tablespoons) melted unsalted butter and 165 g (¾ cup + 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar.
- Whisk in 2 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk until smooth.
- Whisk in 10 g (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract.
- Add 90 g (¾ cup) powdered sugar, 45 g (⅜ cup) all-purpose flour, and 1.5 g (¼ teaspoon) kosher salt and whisk until combined.
- Whisk in 90 g (6 tablespoons) heavy cream until smooth and pourable.
- Spread 200 g (about ⅔ cup) peach filling evenly over the slightly cooled cake layer.
- Pour the gooey butter mixture evenly over the peaches. The mixture is fairly liquid, so there is no need to smooth the top.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 40–48 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the center is mostly set with a slight jiggle remaining.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack. For serving the cake warm and gooey, allow it to cool for about 30 minutes. Cool longer if you prefer cleaner, more structured slices.
- Dust generously with powdered sugar before cutting.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream and the reserved peach filling spooned over the top.
