Peach Poundcake

This Peach Poundcake is delicious – peaches in poundcake form, with enough diced peach pieces sprinkled throughout to keep things real.

The Peach Truck is coming to town this weekend from Georgia bringing the best peaches we will have all year. Seriously, my family anticipates this delivery with more excitement than fruit might deserve.

Already thinking about the giant stash of peaches that are about to come into our kitchen, I came across a NYT Cooking recipe for Peach Poundcake by Jerrelle Guy. It sounded like it might be a winner. There is no possible way we can eat all the peaches fresh (we do slice and freeze some), so I decided to give Jerelle’s Peach Poundcake a try.

Everyone in my home will now tell you that this is the peach dessert/snack/breakfast they want. It is truly yummy – peaches in poundcake form, with enough diced peach pieces sprinkled throughout to keep things real. Using peach puree in the batter is genius, and who ever thought to simply use fresh peach puree and powdered sugar to make a glaze? It’s the peachiest.

If you, like we, are going to need more ways to make use of those delicious peaches, see our “Just Peachy” story in this month’s (July 2022) Buzz. 

Peach Poundcake
Very slightly adapted from Jerrelle Guy’s NYT Cooking recipe

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and cooled to room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
2 ½ cups flour, plus more for dusting the pan
4 medium, ripe, red-hued peaches, pitted 
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, beaten
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, and set aside.

Dice 1 ½ peaches into 1/3-inch pieces. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel and set aside.

Add the remaining peaches and the lemon juice to a food processor (or blender), and blend on high until completely puréed. Measure out all but about ½ cup of the purée and transfer it to a mixing bowl along with the melted butter, eggs, egg yolk and vanilla. Whisk to combine and set aside.

Make the icing in the food processor using the small amount of puréed peaches still remaining: Add the confectioners’ sugar to the remaining peach purée in the food processor and blend on high until combined. The icing should be thick but thin enough to drizzle. Add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or a splash of water to thin, as needed. Cover and set aside until it’s time to glaze the cake.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt, and whisk to combine. Pour the peach mixture into the flour mixture, and whisk well until the batter is thoroughly combined, then fold in the diced peaches. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan, spread evenly to the edges, and bake until crusty and golden brown on the top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 75 to 80 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Stir the icing a final time and spread it on top of the warm cake, allowing the extra icing to drip down the sides. Cool the cake to room temperature. Slice and serve, or wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 3 days.