Pineapple upside down cake is good but peach upside down cake is better! Especially brown butter peach upside down cake!
I don’t really need to do much explaining to make this cake sound fantastic, because it just is. A layer of brown butter glaze, ripe peach slices, and a thin layer of buttery pound cake that’s been soaked in the brown butter glaze. Yup – that’s it.
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
Makes: 1 round 9-inch upside down cake
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
The Ingredients
The Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, softened*
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
The Brown Butter Peach Layer:
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) salted butter*
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
~3 ripe peaches, cut into roughly 1/4 inch slices**
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*If you don’t have salted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt for the cake, and 1/8 teaspoon for the peach layer.
**Depending on the size of your peaches, you may need 2-4 peaches!
The Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9” standard round cake pan.
For brown butter glaze: In a small pot, add 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter. Brown butter for about 5-9 minutes over medium heat until butter turns nut brown.
TIP: Butter will melt, then bubble rapidly, then subside and brown. When butter starts to brown, move pot around to keep butter browning evenly. See video below for more tips on how to brown butter!
When butter turns nut brown, add vanilla extract (butter will spatter so be careful!), and brown sugar. Stir until combined. Mixture will resemble wet sand.
Spread butter/brown sugar mixture in the bottom of your cake pan, in a single layer, as evenly as possible.
For peach layer: Create a single layer of peach slices, starting from the outside working your way in, in a spiral motion. Set aside.
For cake layer: In the bowl of a stand mixture (or if needed, mix by hand), add 1 stick (8 tablespoons) softened butter and sugar. Cream together until mixture looks whipped.
Add eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until combined.
To add cake layer to pan: Add dollops of cake batter to the top of the peaches. Use your fingers (or a spoon if preferred), to GENTLY spread cake batter across cake pan into a single even layer, being careful to not mash or move the peaches. Take your time! It will appear as if there is not enough cake batter, but there is just enough for a thin layer that will rise when baked!
To bake: Bake for about 25 minutes, until top of cake is golden and set.
Let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan to loosen the cake. Invert cake onto a plate!
To serve: Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Best if enjoyed within 2 days.
The Steps with Video
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!