Peach Upside-Down Skillet Cake With Bourbon Whipped Cream Recipe (2024)

Sorry, not trying to be smart, but by unpeeled, do you mean peeled?In the photo the peaches look peeled.

I've made this twice, following the recipe exactly using a spring form pan. Came out perfectly both times.

Peaches vary a lot in moisture content,so it might be wise to macerate the peaches with a little sugar first,to draw out some excess liquid. You are liable to end up with an overly wet bottom (haha). Also I always cook the caramel on the blonde side for upside down cakes,as the sugar is going to darken while baking. There is no going back from burnt caramel.

I agree with the suggestion to use brown sugar instead of caramelizing white sugar - just melt 1/4 c of the butter and 1/4 c of brown sugar in the iron skillet, take it off the heat, arrange the peaches, spread on the cake batter. It's easier, no fear of burning the sugar. Works for me.

I used a reader's suggestion and included blueberries in with the peaches. The cake came out great! It was a learning experience for me making the caramel for the first time; had no idea it was just water and sugar! Took two tries to get it the right shade of amber. I followed a suggestion in The Joy of Cooking to swirl the pan as it heated.

This is the easier recipe.

Good, but not stunning. I would wish for a little bit more complexity in the flavor: next time I would add some ginger, maybe cinnamon, maybe cardamom, to the batter. Also, I would caution you to set your oven time for far less than 40 minutes. At 25 minutes I could smell it burning (and, yes, my oven was at precisely the right temp). I pulled it out then and while it could have gone a few more minutes, it sure wasn't undercooked at 25.

I added pecans to the pan after turning out the cake. Sprinkled a little brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon until the nuts were toasted and coated. After cooling, I rough chopped the nuts, sprinkling on top of the cake when serving. In place of the bourbon, I substituted amaretto in the whipped cream. The crunch added a great texture and the amaretto really paired well with the peaches.

Made it today with ripe local Long Island peaches. Followed recipe exactly. No problem at all with being too moist, in fact it was delicious and quite beautiful. I agree that the addition of a touch of salt might improve it, and when I make it next I might increase cake recipe by half as it was a touch flatter than I wanted. Also agree that 45 minutes wld have been way too long. I took it out just after 25 minutes. Served with vanilla ice cream.

Ok this is so delicious!!! Here are my alterations after reading the other comments 1) added a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg to the peaches and did not peal 2) used salted butter 3) doubled the batter ingredients besides the sugar 4) still only used 2 tbsp of butter with the peaches 5) added 1/2 tsp salt to batter 6) still only needed 40 mins to bake 7) skipped the whip8) meant to add raspberries with the peaches but forgot would have been a great addition, next time

Instead of white sugar, I use brown. Also after peaches are added, I include pecan halves.

I notice the ingredients list doesn't mention how ripe the peaches should be. Any advice on that?

I’m not a baker so i follow cake type recipes closely.. My peach version was picture perfect (goddess bless cast iron) and tasted great with the bourbon whipped cream. I felt it was just a touch dry. Also was finished in 25 minutes. Feeling confident I created a pear version. I marinated the unpeeled pears in a bit of brandy, added a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg and then the tablespoon of leftover brandy I tossed into the cake batter and probably added about 2 more TBSP of sour cream. AWESOME!

I've made it with both, and the version with nonfat yogurt was fine, but with sour cream it was definitely better...richer, and higher.

So maybe this works well with those hard dry peaches you buy at the supermarket, but with ripe homegrown peaches it is pretty sloppy. Maybe more cake batter would improve it and perhaps more texture in the cake like the peach polenta cake recipe that NY Times also had running this season which came out with a much better appearance. That said, this cake does taste good.

I would 100% recommend this. It had a rich flavor.

Use brown sugar instead of carmelizing white sugar.

Fabulous recipe!

I’ve made this cake many times but never had cake flour on hand… finally made it w cake flour. I like it better with regular flour. 25-30 mins. Brown sugar for the caramel and add butter at same time is the way I roll!

I’ve been assigned dessert for a dinner party, with the request that it be made with peaches. I’d like to bring this. Can I make it ahead and carry it in the pan? I’m thinking I could rewarm it in the oven there to ensure that it releases. Or should plate it at home and transport it that way?

The whipped cream was great . . . but I didn't care for the cake at all. The caramel was too strong for the more delicate fruit. I'll go back to my butter and brown sugar for upside-down cakes.

Really really yummy! I used (last summer's) frozen peaches, so defrosted them in a colander, then just sprinkled lemon juice on them, as they were so moist already. Also substituted greek yoghurt for sour cream (often use yoghurt as a butter replacement, so why not?). Actually needed the full 40 minutes to cook. No extra juices when cooling. Cake nice and fluffy. Best baking results I've had in a while. Even got the 'caramel' right (but didn't stir the sugar!) YUMMY.

Needs some cinnamon. And nutmeg

Delicious!! I used grocery store peaches that I knew would go bad on the counter and they were perfect! I made the caramel as written and only added a couple of shakes of cinnamon and ginger to the peaches.

I think the 1/4 c of sugar to make the caramel for topping is not enough sugar. The next time I will use 1/2 c and still add 3/4 c to the batter.

This lacks serious flavor if you don’t have super juicy and flavorful peaches. I’d recommend increasing the caramel and/or adding bourbon to the cake mix if you have doubts about your peaches.

This is an awesome recipe! Made it twice in the last month, and it not only popped out of the pan like magic both times (thanks to a well-seasoned cast iron skillet) but looks absolutely gorgeous. Not being required to peel the peaches is a bonus - the peels seem to melt away and disappear once it’s done.

Splendid Recipe. I added cardamom in the peaches and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter. I baked the cake in a cast iron skillet, but had to go all 45 minutes. I would add just a dash of bourbon to the cream next time, it was a bit strong.

This was lovely. I wish I could post the photo here.The only change I made from the original was to substitute peach-flavored Greek yogurt for the sour cream. I don't think it added any extra ooomph as far as flavor goes, but it worked for the texture of the crumb.

First time making it I followed the recipe to the letter, except for adding some grated nutmeg on top of the peaches. I chose this recipe because I love that the caramelized sugar cooks in the same pan as the cake. I cooked mine to a blondish color only, and I needed extra peaches to go around. I wonder how this would be in an 8" skillet? It is, as is observed in the introduction, rather like a galette. I would make this again, and certainly keep the nutmeg.