Vegan Peach Cake! The softest, fluffiest sponge flecked with juicy fresh peach pieces, and a crunchy golden sugar and flaked almond-encrusted top. Baked to perfection!
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This Vegan Peach Cake is a textural wonder: soft, fluffy sponge, fleshy, juicy peaches, and the crustiest top scattered with coarse sugar and toasty, crispy, flaked almonds.
And while the flavour is subtle, it's fragrant with vanilla and almond extract, and sweet floral with a hint of honey notes from the fresh peaches.
Such a treat! The kind of cake to bake on a summer's day that just needs a little extra jazzing. I love to serve thick slices with a generous spread of vegan butter!
Love baking with peaches? Be sure to give my vegan peach cobbler a try too!
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Peaches - Yellow or white peaches are fine. I have only tested this recipe with fresh peaches. Leave the skin on. The flecks of colour in the batter are so pretty! Frozen peaches should be ok as long as they are diced and go into the batter still frozen.
- Flour - All-purpose flour. If you are in the UK, use plain flour. A good gluten-free all-purpose flour containing xanthan gum should work well too.
- Sugar - Cane or white sugar is best in this recipe, so we don't overpower the subtle flavours. It goes in the batter but also on the top before baking for a really crunchy, delicious texture.
- Dairy-free milk - Any unsweetened and unflavored dairy-free milk, such as oat milk, almond milk or soy milk, is fine.
- Oil - Any neutral liquid oil such as vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, or light olive oil.
- Almond flakes - These just go on the top. The subtle nutty flavour works really well with the peaches and they add beautiful texture and interest.
- Almond and vanilla extract - A combination of both gives the best flavour in this cake. It's not overly almond-y, though (I know a lot of people aren't fans of almond extract). The flavour is very subtle but is important for adding depth. You could up the almond by an extra teaspoon if you want a more pronounced flavour.
Let's Make Vegan Peach Cake!
Can't wait to make it? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:
1 - Mix the dry ingredients together, then make a well in the middle.
2 - Add the wet ingredients to the well, then mix gently to form a thick batter.
3 - Fold through the diced peaches.
4 - Spoon into a lined loaf pan, decorate with peach slices, then sprinkle with flaked almonds and a generous scattering of sugar before baking.
5 - Leave in the pan for 5 minutes before lifting out to cool completely on a wire rack.
Recipe FAQs
Any berries (fresh or frozen) or stone fruits will work well in this recipe. Plums and nectarines would work particularly well. I also think you could use chopped pear, apple, or rhubarb. For blueberries, see my vegan blueberry cake recipe.
Recipe
Vegan Peach Cake
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (312 grams all purpose flour , (plain flour in the UK)
- 1 cup (200 grams) white or cane sugar , plus a little more for the top
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1¼ cup (300 ml dairy-free milk , unsweetened & unflavoured
- ½ cup (120 ml) oil , such as light olive, refined avocado, vegetable, sunflower, or canola
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 medium fresh peaches , divided - 2½ diced in the batter and ½ sliced for the top
- 2 to 3 tablespoons flaked almonds
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 375℉ (190℃). Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and place a strip of parchment paper down the middle with some overhang at each end to act as handles once the cake is ready.
- Prep the peaches - Leave the skin on. Dice 2½ peaches and slice the remaining half into 6 or 7 thin half-moon-shaped slices.
- Make the batter - To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to combine then make a well in the middle.
- To the well, add the milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix together gently to combine into a thick batter then add the diced peaches and fold them through so they are evenly distributed.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and level the top with a spatula. Lay the peach slices down the middle, sprinkle the flaked almonds around them, then sprinkle over a generous amount of sugar.
- Bake on the middle shelf of your oven for about 80 minutes. If using a dark/black pan, check it at 75 minutes. The cake is done when it's golden, well-risen, starting to come away from the sides of the pan, and a skewer/toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then very carefully lift out, remove the parchment paper, and cool completely on a wire rack.
NOTES
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Jane says
I admit I did change this recipe in quite a few ways, but it was absolutely delicious nonetheless! I used pears and fresh and crystallised ginger. I used SR flour and decreased the baking powder proportionally. I made it in a round shallow 9” tin. Finally I had no slivered almond so I just chopped some almonds instead. Oh and of course I lowered the heat and planned to cook for less time, because it had less depth and more surface area, in the end though it did take 90 minutes. I possibly compensated too much. All this and it still turned out beautifully!
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you enjoyed it! I think I need to make a pear version of this recipe. Sounds delicious!
jane says
not stone fruit season here (Australia) but thinking pears might work??
Melanie McDonald says
Yes they would be perfect with the vanilla and almond flavours. Use about about 375g (about 2.5 cup) diced in the batter then a bit more sliced on top. Enjoy!
Margarita says
Fabulous recipe. I used fresh peaches from my tree ❤️ I made the recipe just as it is written. It came out amazing, I highly recommend this to anybody who loves peaches. Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us.
Melanie McDonald says
Even better with peaches from your own tree! So pleased you enjoyed it, Margarita!
Charlotte says
Can I substitute vegan butter instead of a liquid oil
Melanie McDonald says
Oil is 100% fat whereas vegan butter has a much lower fat content. Oil gives a softer, more tender crumb in this recipe than vegan butter because of that. Also vegan butter contains a lot of water. Oil doesn't. Because peaches are naturally very juicy and vegan butter contains water, together they can create a damp, gummy crumb. I recommend following the recipe for the best results. Hope that helps!
Nina says
Greetings from North Yorkshire UK - thanks for the amazing recipe…. Will be trying this out at the weekend… x💕
Melanie McDonald says
You’re welcome, Nina! Hope you enjoy it!
Nina says
I genuinely appreciate all the amazing recipes, which span years… take care and thank you for replying….
Carmen says
It looks so much delicious! Can I make this as a bundt cake?
Melanie McDonald says
I’m sure you could but you’d need to scale it up for your particular pan and wing it with timings.
However, the best part of this cake is the golden crusty, crunchy, sugary, almond top, and you’d lose that with a Bundt cake. Personally I’d probably stick to a loaf pan with this one or make it in a round pan so you get the perks of the top.
Another idea though is to make it in a Bundt pan and make some peachy icing with powdered sugar and smushed up peach to drizzle all over. That would be lovely! Hope that helps!
Carmen says
I made a round cake as you suggested (with peaches from my tree as well), and I turned out amazing! I used a 9” springform pan and decreased the temp to 350 and time to 40 minutes. My family attacked it as soon as it was out of the pan, and they said it was the best cake ever! I am now planning to make it for my friend’s birthday 🥳!
Thanks again for a fabulous recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
Sounds perfect! I'm glad it worked out well for you, Carmen. I'm feeling like I need to make room for a peach tree in my garden. You're all making me jealous!