Homemade Fresh Peach Buckle with Blackberries

What better way to use juicy summer peaches than baking them into a simple cake with a lot of flavor? This Peach Buckle recipe is a cross between a coffee cake and a cobbler, with its soft crumb cake topped with fruit instead of streusel. Pair it with slightly tart blackberries to round out the sweetness of the juicy peaches. This dessert isn’t as sweet as most cakes or cobblers, but the fresh fruit and honey whipped cream more than make up for it. 

​An Old Fashioned Dessert Showcasing Fresh Fruit

This delightful summer dessert combines sweet, juicy peaches with a simple cake batter with a subtle hint of vanilla and cardamom. Then, thin slices of fresh peaches and ripe blackberries are placed on top of the batter before baking so they get soft with slightly crisp edges.

Finally, it’s topped with a homemade honey whipped cream topping that adds a subtle sweetness. Peach buckle is a beautifully rustic dessert that doubles as a show-stopping centerpiece for special occasions, family dinners, or brunch. 

Never heard of a buckle? It’s just a coffee cake with fruit instead of streusel. Not as sweet or juicy as peach cobbler, it’s a great choice when you don’t have bushels of fruit – you just need 2 peaches and about a cup of blackberries. While I love love love streusel, sweet peaches come a close second.

Sink them into a rich buttery cake and it’s like a peach cobbler cake. Perfect for almost any occasion. Since it’s not super sweet, you could eat it for breakfast or afternoon tea. If you like the cakey texture but want more fruit, try a peach blueberry cobbler cake.

If your going for a beautiful presentation, use medium ripe peaches that are a little firm so they don’t breakdown while baking. If they’re super ripe, it will still taste great, but the peaches won’t retain their shape as well.

The great thing about a peach buckle is that you don’t have to peel the peaches! It’s a huge timesaver, and the rich red skin of the peaches adds a lovely color to the baked cake. I love using different kinds of summer fruit in my baked goods, so feel free to use blueberries or raspberries instead of blackberries. If you have lots of blackberries, try making a blackberry cobbler with homemade biscuits.

You can even skip the honey whipped cream (if you must) and serve it with Cool Whip or regular whipped cream, creme fraiche, or sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

This works best in a spring-form pan. If that’s not available you can use a layer cake pan.

When is Peach Season?

Like other fruit and vegetable seasons, peach season can vary depending on where you live, but it tends to be from May to September. I definitely recommend visiting local farmers markets to get your hands on fresh peaches and other seasonal stone fruits like apricots, nectarines, and plums. This peach buckle would be amazing with a mix of different stone fruits, but in NC, we only get peaches.

Pro tip: Peaches ripen off the tree, so if the ones you’ve come home with aren’t ripe, here are some tips for how to ripen peaches at home.

Never Tried a Buckle?

• Soft Texture – The coffee cake base is super soft and moist; you’ll barely need to put pressure on your spoon to take a bite. 
• Not too Sweet – This recipe has minimal sugar and uses fresh fruit for most of its flavor. It’s light and refreshing but still feels super decadent. It’s the perfect dessert! 
• Easy To Make – Unlike layer cakes or more extravagant desserts, this one takes just a few steps. The hardest part is evenly spacing out the peaches on top!

Ingredients You Probably have in Your Pantry

CAKE

Dairy – You’ll need both milk and room temperature butter!

Peaches – Two large peaches will be enough to top the buckle. 

Blackberries – These little berries add a tart sweetness that balances the super-sweet peaches, you can use blueberries or raspberries or just add more peaches.

Cardamom – Sweet, peppery, and citrusy, this dried herb is fun to keep on hand! It’s a warm spice like cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice. If you don’t have any on hand, substitute one of those.

Pantry Staples – egg, sugar, vanilla, flour and baking powder.

TOPPING

Heavy Cream – no substitutions for this, you need the real deal.

Sweetener – Honey and powdered sugar. You can use just powdered sugar, but in fruit desserts, I like adding a bit of honey to it. 

Vanilla – You can use vanilla extract, or vanilla paste.

How To Make A Classic Peach Buckle Dessert

Step One: Cream Butter

Cream butter with a mixer until smooth, about 1 minute. Add sugar and mix until it is incorporated, about 2-3 minutes, then add the egg and vanilla. Mix well. 

Step Two: Whisk Dry Ingredients

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk until well combined. Pour the mixture into the springform pan; it will be very thick. Even out the top with an offset spatula. 

Step Three: Place Peaches (And Berries!)

Arrange sliced peaches around the edges and blackberries in the center. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Let the pan cool completely, then remove the sides and serve with whipped cream at room temperature. 

Step Four: Whip Topping

Whip the cream and add honey, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spoon the cream on top of the cake or dollop it on individual slices. 

A Few Recipe Notes

• Use a 9-inch springform pan so the cake will be easy to remove! 
• Use room temperature ingredients so that they incorporate together more quickly. This will make your batter smoother, too! 
• You can use raspberries or blueberries or a combination.
• Wait to add the whipped cream until ready to serve. Want to make it a little more decadent, add some homemade peach ice cream instead of whipped cream.

How To Store Peach Blackberry Cake

Since this is cake like, it’s best stored on the counter in an air tight container unless you have added the whipped cream. Once the whipped cream is added, you’ll need to refrigerate it. You can easily freeze the cake where it will stay fresh for a couple of months if in an air tight container.