To me peaches are the quintessential summer fruit. Their ripeness signals the height of summer produce. And I don’t know anyone who can resist the soft bite followed by dribbling juice. Truly the nectar of the Gods.
We have a miniature peach tree in our backyard. It is miniature in size but the size of the fruit is the same of regular peaches and perhaps even more appreciated since it’s ours. The tree does not fruit every year. I’m not completely clear about the rhyme or reason of the fruiting. It may be due to late frosts that burn the buds.
A note about ‘freestone’ peaches. Heard that term? Peaches are either ‘freestone’ or ‘clingstone’ (and there is a hybrid of both called semi-freestone). From the name you can guess that freestone are the peach varieties whose pit comes out effortlessly. The peaches I used are of the clingstone variety. I purchased them due to being Colorado-local not concerning myself about the pit. Either can be used for this recipe though freestone makes the preparation easier and quicker.
This year sadly we are getting a bit of help from a pesky squirrel who I noted crawls nimbly out onto the branches, gnaws away at the tops of the peaches, leaving them half naked, violated and hanging for birds to finish the job. Or for our dogs. Our two black Labrador Retrievers have been spotted circling under the tree, combing the weeds for fallen fruit which they happily gobble up pit and all. Everyone loves peaches.
In my Grandmother’s recipe box I found this beautiful coffee cake recipe using fresh peaches (one can also substitute nectarines). It bears all the traditional attributes of a coffee cake but is made the more seasonally flavorful with use of fresh peaches and sour cream. It is a delicious addition for weekend brunch and any leftovers are devoured for dessert in my house!
Recipe
Fresh Peach Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1/4 pound) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar , packed
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour (regular or gluten free)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup walnuts , finely chopped
- 4 ripe firm yellow peaches , peeled and sliced into ¼ inch thick wedges*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch square pan.
- To make nut topping: In a medium bowl stir together ½ cup granulated sugar, the ground cinnamon and walnuts. Add 1 tablespoon melted butter; stir to fully combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of freestanding mixer combine ½ cup butter, ½ cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar, beat until creamy. Add egg beat until fluffy.
- Add sour cream and almond extract and beat to fully combine.
- In a medium separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to wet mixture blending on low speed with a mixer or stirring by hand until fully combined.
- Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Place peach wedges over top of batter to fully cover. Sprinkle with prepared nut topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes until toothpick inserted (between peach slices) comes out clean. Cool for 15-20 minutes before serving. Note: If made ahead of time reheat in oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Debra A DeRosa says
Hi, Toni ~ This looks so delicious, I want it right now!
First, thank you for using GF flour and almond extract because I cannot have vanilla or wheat, so adjusting recipes has been challenging, at best.
But I do have a couple of substitution questions:
– Can I use almond flour or is it best to use a GF blend?
– Can I use yogurt, kefir, or some combination of both in place of the sour cream?
– Is there something I can use in place of the butter?
– Will canned peaches work, or are they too soft?
Thank you in advance! ~ Debra
Toni Dash says
Hi Debra. I’ve only made the recipe as written so unfortunately can’t advise on all the substitutions. I can share that almond flour has a different absorbency than GF measure-for-measure flour blends
(It’s made of nuts instead of grains). So it isn’t something that would directly swap in potentially without other adjustments.
Canned peaches have more moisture than fresh or frozen/thawed peaches (they are pretty moisture logged) so I would not suggest them as a substitute.
I would not have a suggestion on the other two substitutions. I always recommend making our recipes as written because they’ve been through a rigorous testing process. Making all the swaps you’ve suggested turns it into a different recipe and since baking is really chemistry it’s impossible to know how it would turn out without testing it. If you do experiment I’d love to hear the outcome!
Shelly says
This is delicious! I did a couple adjustments. I used my own gf flour mix, cut all the sugar by about half, used a chia egg and did a coconut oil/butter mix. Absolutely delicious. Was great warm and still multiple days later from the refrigerator. Thank you!
Toni Dash says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Shelly and thank you for sharing your modifications! I’m sure they will help others too!
Patricia says
Is that about 4 cups of peaches?
My peaches are small…
Toni Dash says
Probably closer to 3 cups as an estimate!
Patricia says
Thank you!
It was lovely!
Shannon says
This looks amazing! Any chance it freezes well?
Toni Dash says
I actually have only made it fresh Shannon so I can’t comment on how it would freeze; sorry!
Julie says
Your photographs are so beauifully arranged with such a pretty color palatte. Am bookmarking this recipe to try after I detox from all cookies baked and eaten this week so I can thoroughly enjoy it.
lindsay says
I love peaches and I loved this coffee cake! I made it last week and enjoyed it with coffee in the mornings! Thanks for sharing!!