Summer desserts should be as relaxed and simple as are the lazy days. Buttermilk Peach Buckle is a one skillet dessert recipe that is a snap to make and everyone will love it. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Gluten-free or regular depending on the flour used.
This time of the summer is always so exciting as fresh, ripe peaches begin to roll in. We are fortunate in Colorado as peaches are a star crop of our Rocky Mountain Western Slope. I had the chance while on a trip touring Colorado’s wine country (yes there is such a thing) a few years ago to sample peaches from the same region and to say they melt in your mouth is an understatement. They truly taste like nectar of the gods!
Generally, you don’t find peaches in very high brow desserts. They are conducive to more relaxed, homey recipes such as the Buttermilk Peach Buckle dessert I’m sharing today. The effort is low on this dessert and the return high. It feels like the dessert you’d enjoy from your Grandmother’s table on a Sunday afternoon, doesn’t it?
Using peaches in a cobbler is certainly a summer mainstay however I decided to make a buckle.
What is a Buckle dessert?
A buckle is close to a coffee cake with fruit and it is very common to find it made with blueberries.
The fruit is layered on top of a cake batter then topped with a streusel mixture allowing the cake to envelop the fruit when baking.
The streusel melts, forming a crisp, sugary top crust.
It is oh-so-simple to make and would be as welcome on the breakfast table as it is to end a casual meal.
If you are like me, once you dip your toe into the Americana dessert pond, you’ll find yourself hooked on making them!
These rustic, approachable desserts add a welcoming feel to the end of dinner, begging one to sit and chat for awhile rather than rushing off to complete a To Do list!
And they are so simple to make.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
Some other favorites of mine include:
- Fruit Crumble in mini Mason Jars
- Plum Slump
- Raspberry Pandowdy
- Berry Cobbler with Sour cream biscuits (you can even make cobbler in the slow cooker!)
- Rhubarb Grunt (don’t let the classic name put you off, it’s delicious)
- Spicy Apple Crisp with Cranberries and Walnuts which is fantastic in the fall.
- Peach Crumble
Try these Peach Recipes too!
As for peaches, the recipe opportunities abound!
- Peach Bellini’s (cocktails)
- Olive Oil Ice Cream with Peach Ripple
- Favorite Summer Peach Recipes
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Recipe
Buttermilk Peach Buckle {gluten-free}
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (softened) plus ¼ cup (cold) unsalted Butter
- ¼ cup Shortening (I use organic vegetable shortening)
- ½ cup plus ¼ cup granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg , room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup plus 1/3 cup Flour (gluten-free blend or regular if not gluten-free)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/3 cup Buttermilk
- 1 ½ cup Peaches , peeled, pitted and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg , preferably freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 inch cast iron skillet or a 9x9 baking pan.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer* cream the ¼ cup butter until soft. Add the shortening and mix to fully combine.
- Add the ½ cup sugar to the butter mixture and beat to combine.
- Add the egg to the mixture and beat to fully combine.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the 1 ¼ cups flour, baking powder, salt; mix together thoroughly. Slowly pour into the butter mixture while running the mixer on a low speed. The mixture may be a bit dry.
- While the mixer is still running slowly pour in buttermilk and beat until fully combined.
- To make the Streusel: Cut the cold ¼ cup butter into small pieces. Combine ¼ cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and the Chinese five spice in the bowl. Using dinner knives or a pastry blender, cut the ingredients together forming a gravely mixture.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared skillet or baking pan. Layer the peach slices on top of the batter to cover it. Sprinkle the fresh nutmeg on top of the peaches. Layer on the streusel.
- Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the top is a light golden brown. Allow to sit for five minutes before serving warm!
Notes
Nutrition
This delicious recipe was originally published in August 2013 and has been updated in 2016.
Lindsey Paris says
Whenever I get close to a buckle, I’m always expecting cobbler! But it’s more bready and dense than that. Peach is my favorite flavor.
Dinah says
I was looking for a recipe to use my ripening peaches and ‘ripened’ milk. I made a few alterations and it looks quite different. But my, what a delicious desert and beautiful, too.
My only suggestion is one I learned long ago when baking cheesecake or other moist desert. COOK THE WIGGLE OUT, i.e. when you think that it is done, jiggle it on the rack. If it shakes/wiggles, leave it in for a few more minutes.
Toni Dash says
Thank you Dinah for your comment and I’m so glad you were able to use this with your changes to use your peaches! I feel summer is coming to an abrupt end.
When I made the recipe as written I actually would not have considered it a ‘moist’ recipe. My cake batter was as you can see in the photos, a fairly typical batter but not overly watery. I love your tips in general and wonder if your mention of yours after the alterations being quite different if maybe it did not bake quite the same as the base recipe? Baking is closer to chemistry than cooking I’ve decided and smallest of changes can sometimes make large impacts!
Dinah says
By ‘moist’ I meant the end product. Cheese cake, zucchini casserole, and persimmon pudding are difficult to test with a toothpick or broom straw. My batter looked similar to yours or maybe thicker.
The biggest impact was that I had so many ripe peaches and much sour milk I made a triple batch. It was more convenient to bake two buckles than to find another pan. I, also, had to combine several different flours and meals because I did not have the 4+ cups of all purpose flour which the triple recipe required. I have been baking GF for 3 years and like the insurance of a fraction of a teaspoon of xanthan gum when baking. Many all purpose GF flours and mixes have the xanthan gum in them.
The Chinese 5 Spice threw me until I looked it up on Wiki. I just took all the spices in my cabinet listed there and added sparingly to the topping. Maybe this, the fact that I used Sugar in the Raw and added a few tablespoons of almond and flax meal to level out the cup of flour) is why my topping stayed crumbly.
You concoct a pretty good recipe if I can do all that improvising and still get the best desert I have made in a year. It will be a very pleasant weekend here with this dish to nosh on. Thanks!
Toni Dash says
‘Got it’ Dinah on the moistness. You are right; those recipes are very hard to judge for doneness. I admire your adventurous nature in endeavoring your seneu baking extravaganza. The fact that you are so happy about it speaks to your sense of proportion.
I almost always use King Arthur Flour (GF), liking the ‘normal’ flavor and consistency. I’ve had very good luck with it. Enjoy your dessert-filled weekend, remembering to give your self a pat on the back with each serving for your accomplishment!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
Ah ha! Great minds do think alike 😉 Your version looks lovely! I especially like the addition of the 5-spice. It’s one of my secret weapons. I usually put it in places where you would normally find pumpkin pie spices.
Toni Dash says
I agree completely on the Chinese 5 Spice. Feels a bit more updated than just using cinnamon. Though a buckle recipe is pretty simple I felt I had to put a little spin on it to keep it ‘fresh’!
Anne says
This recipe looks wonderful, I still have a refrigerator full of peaches from our tree, looks like I might be able to use up a few peaches with this recipe, yum! Thanks.
Toni Dash says
Stay tuned Anne; I have a few more posts coming up with some delicious peach recipes! I’m not giving up summer yet!
Melanie @ Just Some Salt and Pepper says
Sounds so yummy! I love the addition of the Chinese Five Spice!
veronica gantley says
What a wonderful looking Buckle Toni. Perfect because peaches are so good this time of year.
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy says
This looks lovely!!
Jacqueline Raposo says
My goodness, I haven’t baked ANYTHING with peaches this summer which is SO unlike me. This may be happening in my kitchen this week. Stunning! xo
Liz says
Nice recipe. Thank you and have a great weekend!
Jaime the German granddaughter says
This looks delicious. I have been wanting to make something gluten-free but I only have gluten-free flour and not the xanthan gum or other things often needed. Will this turnout great with just the gluten-free flour?? Thanks! The five spice sounds like a nice ingredient to have added
Toni Dash says
Jaime everything I make on my blog is gluten-free even when providing gluten alternatives so each photo you see is the gluten-free end result (to answer your question about how it will turn out). For this recipe I used King Arthur’s Gluten-Free Flour blend (one of my favorites as the consistency and flavor is more similar to gluten All Purpose Flour). I also rarely use gums any more. They are to help with binding as you may know, which gluten naturally affords, but I find they can be gummy a bit. In most cases when adapting a recipe like this (vintage) I have not found leaving out the Xanthan Gum to make a difference. This Buttermilk Peach Buckle turned out exactly as expected, stayed together perfectly and was gobbled up by my family taste testers!