You will fall in love with this classic, buttery pound cake infused with local honey and fresh juicy peaches. Top it all off with a sweet peach honey glaze and enjoy your summer! Originally published August 2020. Last updated July 2023.
This dessert is inspired by favorite family soul food desserts and has become a new classic. It's a unique summer pound cake that tastes like peach cobbler. Let's get into the delicious details!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll also love my Aunt Georgia's Peach Cobbler and Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie.
What does it taste like?
I looked to what I had on hand and what was in season in planning out this southern cake recipe: an abundance of fresh juicy peaches and lots of local honey. So you'll taste ripe, sweet, juicy fruit and all the sweet, floral and herbal notes of the honey plus warming spices. It's basically peach cobbler in a cake.
Where does the name pound cake come from?
First things first: what is a pound cake? It is cake made with the measurements of one pound for each of the key ingredients--so one pound of eggs, butter, flour, and sugar, respectively. You might know that pound cakes are a favorite in my family and that I follow the tradition of my late maternal grandmother, Carolyn, in making them.
Check out my roundup of the best pound cake recipes for every season!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
This summery honeyed fruit cake follows the classic pound cake ratios mentioned above plus a few flavorful additions to create a truly unique summer dessert. Here's are the highlights of what to add to your grocery cart.
Fresh Peaches add juicy sweetness and evoke peach cobbler cake vibes. You can also use canned peaches, just be sure to drain it very well so as not to introduce too much extra moisture.
Eggs, Flour, and Butter in the traditional pound cake proportions. Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature.
Brown Sugar instead of granulated sugar here to add deeper caramelized flavor notes that pair perfectly with the spiced peaches.
Honey add additional layers of flavor and sweetness that truly make this pound cake a dream! I like local, wildflower honey but use whatever you have available.
Vanilla Extract enhances all the flavors and adds that bakery flavor note.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, and step-by-step instructions!
Tips & Tools to Make a Fruit Pound Cake
Grab either a hand mixer or stand mixer as well as a bundt pan. I also like to use a cooling rack for bringing the cake to room temperature afterward. Lastly, grab a small saucepan to cook down the glaze. More on that below.
What's the traditional pan for a pound cake? Use a non-stick pan. I prefer a bundt pan or tube (think angel food) pan for pound cakes. Be sure to grease and flour it just to be on the safe side. Here's a great visual on how to grease and flour a cake pan.
Which oven rack to bake my pound cake? Bake on the middle rack. This will help the pound cake bake evenly instead of burning on one side or the other.
How to know when my pound cake is done? Check for doneness at multiple points. Stick a toothpick or skewer into different parts of the cake to ensure it baked evenly.
More Favorite Pound Cake Recipes
Strawberries & Cream Pound Cake
When to make peach cobbler bundt cake?
Late summer is that sweet spot of peach season where peaches are plump, juicy, and CHEAP. And this honey peach pound cake is exactly what the name implies: classic buttery pound cake, with rich honey flavor and juicy peaches both inside and on top of the cake.
It's simple to make and the ingredients are straightforward. The most difficult thing you'll do when making pound cake here is peeling two peaches.
Making the Honeyed Peach Glaze
The honey pound cake glaze is truly something special. Part fruit compote and part light frosting. Think fragrant wildflowers and super ripe peaches drenched in honey--the pictures are mouthwatering but they don't even do it justice. You'll need:
Fresh Peach is best but you can get away with canned peaches, just as whichever you use inside the cake batter.
Honey same as you use in the cake for harmonious flavor. Any brand or variety.
Lemon Juice from a fresh lemon is best but concentrated lemon juice will also work.
Powdered Sugar also called confectioner's sugar combines with the liquid ingredients to create a silky glaze texture.
Also grab a small saucepan, cutting board, and a sharp knife, as well as a kitchen spoon.
How to strop fruit from sticking to pan while baking
Wondering how to stop fruit from sinking to the bottom of your cake? Be sure to mix the diced peaches in with your dry mixture before mixing all the batter together.
Dredging the peach bits in flour like this will provide a barrier that helps them "float" in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom. So you won't wind up with awkward clusters of peach throughout the cake. You also wont get burnt peaches all along the edges of your cake. Just take my advice, OK?
I share this tip all the time, but it's worth repeating because not heeding it can have disastrous results for your fresh peach pound cake. And we don't want that at all. You won't get peach cobbler flavored pound cake results that way.
I'm confident that you'll fall in love with my soul food peach pound cake. Leave me a comment to tell me how it turns out for you. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
Peach Cobbler Pound Cake Recipe
Peach Honey Pound Cake
Ingredients
Peach Honey Pound Cake
- 1 pound butter softened to room temperature
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 large peach peeled and diced
Peach Honey Glaze
- 1 large peach peeled and diced
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
- Cream butter in a mixer or food processor until smooth and a slightly lighter shade of yellow. Add eggs, honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and milk and continue mixing until uniform.
- In another bowl, mix together flour, sea salt, and cinnamon. Dredge diced peach in flour mixture until coated then add wet mixture to dry and stir by hand until uniform and no dry pockets remain.
- Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake on middle rack for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted into multiple parts of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake sit in pan for about 10 minutes then carefully invert it onto a plate to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, make peach honey glaze: heat honey, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and diced peach in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir until powdered sugar dissolves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20minutes or until slightly thickened and remove from heat. The glaze will thicken more as it cools.
- To finish cake, spoon glaze over top and allow it to run down sides of cake. If not serving cake immediately, reserve glaze until ready to serve.
Notes
- Use a non-stick pan. I prefer a bundt pan or tube (think angel food) pan for pound cakes. Be sure to grease and flour it just to be on the safe side. Here's a great visual on how to grease and flour a cake pan.
- Bake on the middle rack. This will help the pound cake bake evenly instead of burning on one side or the other.
- Check for doneness at multiple points. Stick a toothpick or skewer into different parts of the cake to ensure it baked evenly.
Jessica says
Made this cake to bring to a baby shower last weekend and it was a huge hit! It tasted like my grandma's pound cake and peach cobbler had a baby. Everyone was asking me for the recipe. So good!
Taneisha says
This is the perfect summer pound cake that truly does taste peach cobbler, but cake form! Definitely will be making again - thank you!!