This scratch-made Peach & Pecan Crumb Cake is a moist and fluffy cake filled with fresh, juicy peaches and topped with a sky-high layer of pecan streusel! But to make it even better, it’s drizzled with a Homemade Bourbon Caramel!
I know it’s only August 1st and I’ve clearly got my undies in a twist, but I am already thinking about fall. Don’t shoot me or sue me or cause me bodily harm because I promise when September comes around, you’ll be thanking my pumpkinhead for the recipes coming.
This recipe today reminds me of an entrance-into-fall-ish-weather-ish-recipe. AKA, a recipe that reminds me of back-to-school season, if back-to-school season also had a menu that corresponds with it. I’m not making sense am I? Blame the bourbon caramel.
What I’m trying to say is: it reminds me of a late summer recipe, and to me, August is getting to be late-summer. It’s still lazy and hot, but stores are putting out light jackets and boots, and there are far fewer children out during the day when I go shopping because they’re all back in school and not crowding the mall. #bitteroldlady
Plus, in California, peaches are good until late September, so it’s still peach season and therefore, this recipe fits perfectly for the new month of August.
If you’ve read my blog for a bit, you’d know peaches aren’t my favorite. Actually, most stone-fruits are not. I really dislike plums and apricots, and don’t get me started on hybrids like pluouts which just make me shiver involuntarily. I do like nectarines, which people say are like peaches without the fuzz, but I dislike peaches. I already know I’m weird; I can smell colors and I like nectarines but not peaches. Welcome to my life.
BUT! I have to say: I loved this cake. And if you love peaches already, you will flip over this cake. I promise! It’s a buttery, tender and moist cake base with fresh, juicy peach chunks swirled throughout and a little splash of bourbon in the batter. NOTE: this cake has far more crumb topping than cake, and that’s the way it should be according to law in all 50 states.
The streusel consists of huge brown sugary crumbs mixed with some chopped pecans for flavor and crunch. The crumb does kind of weigh the cake down in the middle, and you’ll notice kind of a dip in the center of the cake when it’s cooling – this is okay, do not be alarmed. It will still taste delicious, obvi.
But because I am so over-the-top and out-of-control, etc., I had to make something to complete this cake, and naturally, Homemade Bourbon Caramel seemed like the perfect addition. NOTE: you can really taste the bourbon flavor in the caramel. Don’t ask me if your kids can have it, as I am not a scientist and cannot say for certain if the bourbon cooks down enough that your kid won’t get trashed on caramel sauce. But there is bourbon in the caramel, and you can taste it. I doubt I’ll receive any complaints.
Lemme just say that caramel + bourbon + peaches + pecans belong together in one loving, delicious, polyamorous relationship from this point forward. One taste and you’ll agree!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get drunk off of the remaining bourbon caramel in my fridge. #winning
- FOR THE CRUMB:
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 & ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- FOR THE CAKE:
- ¾ cup butter, softened (if using salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp bourbon
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 cups chopped and peeled peaches (about 2 medium-large peaches. You can use frozen, but thaw and pat dry first)
- FOR THE CARAMEL:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 Tbsp corn syrup
- 5 Tbsp butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp bourbon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9" round springform pan. Place a parchment round in the bottom of the pan, then liberally grease the parchment round and the sides of the pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- First, make your crumb: in a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, melted butter, and chopped pecans. Mixture will come together and be somewhat clumpy. Set aside.
- To make your cake batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until soft and pale, about 1 minute. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, followed by the vanilla extract and bourbon. Add in the sour cream, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, then gradually add in the flour until a soft batter comes together. Stir in the chopped peaches. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Drop heaping handfuls of crumbs evenly over the cake. There is a LOT of crumb mixture, but use it all!
- Place the springform pan on a baking sheet to catch drips, and bake for approx. 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool completely.
- While the cake bakes and/or cools, make your bourbon caramel. In a medium saucepan (make sure your saucepan is bigger than you think you'll need) over medium-high heat, add the granulated sugar, corn syrup and water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stirring occasionally to prevent burning until the mixture turns deep amber in color. Pay attention* because this happens VERY quickly - within 5-7 minutes - and can go from deep amber to burnt in seconds.
- Once the mixture is amber colored, pull from the heat and add in the butter, noting that the butter will cause the mixture to spit and bubble up, so use caution. Whisk in the butter, followed by the heavy cream and bourbon, which will cause the mixture to also bubble violently. Bring the caramel back onto medium heat and cook until boiling, about 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Let the bourbon caramel cool in a mason jar or pourable container until ready to use. Store leftover caramel in the fridge, sealed, up to 2 weeks.
If nothing else, you have got to try that bourbon caramel sauce on ice cream sundaes or drizzled over cake. It is PHENOMENAL!! Combined with the fresh, juicy peaches and crunchy, salty pecans, this cake is HEAVEN!
Love crumb cake? Check out my other flavors!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
That crumb layer is off the hook, in the best way possible. NOMS