Juicy sweet peaches are the star of the show in this peach cobbler loaf cake. The brown sugar sponge, studded with thyme leaves and peach chunks, is tender and moist. And the brown sugar streusel on top adds the perfect crunch.
Peaches are such a delicious fruit, so sweet and fragrant and they’re perfect in this loaf cake. It’s honestly one of the most tender and moist cakes I’ve made, with the combination of a brown sugar sponge and the peach chunks. The thyme leaves add really delicious earthy notes and the crumble/streusel on top adds the perfect crunch. All the elements come together so well, and it’s SO moreish. Honestly, this cake really won’t last long in your kitchen!
Key Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ripe Peaches – Peaches sort of goes without saying 😉 But ideally you want them to be just ripe, so you’ll enjoy the best flavour and they will be nice and tender.
- Light Brown Sugar – Brown sugar and peaches is a match made in heaven, and it really sings in this cake. The sponge is SO moist and has such a delicious depth of flavour. It also makes for a delicious crumble/streusel topping!
- Thyme – Herbs may not be your first thought for a cake, but peach and thyme work so well together I couldn’t leave it out. The thyme leaves in the sponge add a delicious earthy note, and of course the sprigs on top add such a cute decoration!
How to make Peach Cobbler Loaf Cake:
This cake only needs two bowls to create, and can absolutely be made by hand – no fancy mixers in sight here! Making it the perfect lazy weekend bake, that is still really impressive and SO delicious.
Making the brown sugar sponge:
Like with most sponges, you need to start with room temperature butter. If your butter is cold from the fridge, your ingredients won’t incorporate as well and your sponge won’t be as tender. So don’t skip that step!
The butter needs to be creamed together with both the brown sugar and caster sugar – this means to mix the butter and sugars together at a fairly high speed to ensure the even dispersal of the sugars into the butter. The mixture should turn paler in colour and be light and fluffy. Next, the eggs are added one by one. And finally the plain flour and baking powder.
So simple, but so delicious.
Prepping the peaches:
Now the peaches don’t require much prep at all, as I prefer to keep the skin on. That is a personal preference, so if you’re not a fan you can absolutely peel them first. Though, keep in mind the skin will disintegrate slightly through the baking process.
So peeled or not peeled, the peaches need to be de-stoned and cut into medium sized chunks. The chunks can then be added straight into your sponge batter and mixed in, along with the thyme leaves.
The batter can then be poured into your lined 2lb loaf tin, buttt you’re not ready to bake just yet!
Making the crumble/streusel
So the final step. Making the delicious sugary crumble/streusel topping for the cake! This couldn’t be simpler, but adds such a delicious crunch to the cake.
So, cold butter, plain flour and light brown sugar are rubbed together – i.e. literally rubbing between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs – and that’s it! You can then sprinkle this liberally over the cake, and then its bake time.
Now this loaf cake needs quite a long bake time – 1hr 15-20mins – as there is so much moisture from the peaches. But it is so worth it I promise! This is absolutely a dessert cake, with a plate and fork necessary, because its just SO moist. But in my opinion that’s the best kind of cake!
Tips & Tricks
This peach loaf cake is best kept at room temperature, either in an air-tight container or wrapped tightly in clingfilm. It will last for 2-3 days.
Yes, ripe peaches are best for this recipe. You can tell the peach is ripe when with a gentle squeeze it feels very soft and when the skin has started to wrinkle slightly.
The crumble/streusel on top will be a golden brown colour, and a knife inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean. This is a long bake as there is a lot of moisture from the peaches, so do not worry too much about the cake drying out from the bake time.
If you make one thing with peaches this summer, make it this peach cobbler loaf cake. It’s light, moist, packed full of flavour and so moreish. The perfect dessert cake on a summer afternoon, maybe even with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
You may also like:
Peach Cobbler Loaf Cake
Ingredients
Sponge
- 190 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 95 g soft light brown sugar
- 95 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 190 g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 300 g fresh peach chunks approx. 3 peaches
- 4 sprigs thyme
Crumble/Streusel
- 60 g unsalted butter cold
- 40 g soft light brown sugar
- 75 g plain flour
Instructions
- For the sponge: Firstly, grease and line a 2lb loaf tin and set aside. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas Mark 3.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Then in a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Then mix this into the wet batter in two additions, mixing only until just combined.
- Destone the peaches and chop into medium sized chunks, then mix this into the batter. Finally, add the leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme into the batter and mix to combine. Pour this into the prepared loaf tin, and set aside.
- For the crumble/streusel: In a medium bowl, combine the butter, sugar and flour, rubbing between your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then sprinkle this liberally over the cake batter. Then place into the oven to bake for 1hr 15mins-1hr 20mins, until golden brown on the top and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin, then serve.
