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This Brown Sugar Layer Cake with Peach Filling is made with layers of moist brown sugar cake, fresh peach filling and peach mascarpone frosting! It’s light, delicious and so flavorful – such a big hit!
This post is sponsored by Domino Sugar, but all opinions are my own.
Peaches are a favorite fruit around our house. Not only am I and the hubs a fan, but my dad has always loved them. Recently we introduced the boys to solids and peaches was one of the first fruits they tried. It only seemed natural that they loved them! Along with bananas, peaches are now their favorite.
This is definitely a good time of year for falling in love with peaches too. The Georgia peaches have been totally amazing and the boys have been spoiled by their freshness and flavor. I feel like I need to buy a truckload and freeze them so we have them all winter. If only the boys were old enough to try cake, I know they’d have loved this cake as much as the rest of us.
Aside from the fact that we’ve been having quite a love affair with peaches lately, the inspiration for this brown sugar layer cake also came from Martha Stewart and her show on PBS, Martha Bakes, where she shows viewers how to make beautiful desserts with lots of tips and tricks for doing it yourself. She demonstrates updated twists on classics and fresh, fun flavors. In fact, Domino Sugar is sending one lucky person to New York to meet Martha in person! Enter for your chance to win a trip to attend a live taping of the show, plus take part in an exclusive meet-and-greet. How fun is that?!
So how do you make brown sugar layer cake?
To get started with this cake, you’ll make the fresh peach filling. I used about 5 cups of chopped peaches, a little cornstarch for thickening, lemon juice to compliment the peach flavor and, of course, Domino® Light Brown Sugar.
Domino® Sugar is perfect for use in baking with its exceptional taste and quality. You can just tell as you open the box and bag of sugar that it has such a beautiful, soft texture and moisture to it. It’s the gold standard for taste and performance, so it’s perfect for producing baked goods that are moist and flavorful. It certainly makes this cake even better.
The ingredients for the peach filling are combined in a large sauce pan and heated until it begins to boil. You’ll want to mash the peaches at that point, then let the mixture continue to simmer until it’s reduced by about half. It’ll continue to thicken up a bit as it cools, but overall isn’t a super thick filling.
While the filling cools, make the brown sugar cake layers. Again, we are using Domino® Light Brown Sugar to give this cake some intensely delicious flavor and moisture. The brown sugar is creamed together with butter and some vegetable oil until light and fluffy – a very important step for adding air and lightness to the batter and final cake.
The eggs and vanilla extract are then added, followed by milk and some dry ingredients, including a little cinnamon. The small addition of cinnamon helps bring out the best flavor in this cake and is just the right amount!
Once the cakes are baked and cooled, you’ll want to make the frosting. This frosting is SO good! It’s made with some butter and mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and some of the peach filling. The mascarpone flavor really comes through and is such a light, lovely compliment to the peaches and brown sugar cake.
One thing to be aware of is that mascarpone cheese can be a bit finicky. I add it to the frosting when it’s still a bit cool, but not cold. If you let it come to room temperature, it could actually end up being a little too warm. When mascarpone gets too warm, it’s very soft and hard to work with and can be hard to get it to firm up again.
The brown sugar cake layers are baked in two 8 inch pans, so you’ll want to cut those each into two layers, for a total of four.
To build the cake, spread roughly a 1/3 cup of frosting on top of the layer of cake, then pipe a dam of frosting around the outside. The filling is added inside the dam and then the next layer of cake is added. If you find the frosting to be a little soft, place it in the fridge to firm up a bit, and then continue building the cake.
The whole cake is finished off with the remainder of the peach mascarpone frosting and then topped with some fresh sliced peaches and a little brown sugar crumb topping, which also brings in the lovely brown sugar flavor as part of the decoration.
This Brown Sugar Layer Cake with Peach Filling was a big hit! My dad’s birthday happened to be the week that I made this cake and as I mentioned, he’s a big peach fan. It was the perfect cake for him and the whole family just loved the cake! The peaches are delicious and the cake is wonderfully moist and flavorful, perfectly complimented by the light mascarpone frosting. I can see this a cake we’ll make for more birthdays and I hope you get the chance to try it too!
And don’t forget to visit www.marthabakesnyc.com to enter for a chance to win a trip to New York City and meet Martha Stewart! One lucky winner will attend a live taping of Martha Stewart’s Emmy®-nominated cooking show, Martha Bakes, plus take part in an exclusive meet-and-greet with America’s most beloved expert baker and teacher. Sweepstakes ends September 12, 2018.
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Peach Caramel Blondie Cheesecake
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Brown Sugar Layer Cake with Peach Filling
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 55 minutes, plus cooling time
- Yield: 12-14 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Brown Sugar Layer Cake with Peach Filling is made with layers of moist brown sugar cake, fresh peach filling and peach mascarpone frosting!
Ingredients
Peach Filling
- 5 cups peeled and chopped peaches (about 4–5 large peaches)
- 1/3 cup (75g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Brown Sugar Cake
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (337g) packed Domino® light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) milk
Peach Mascarpone Frosting
- 1 1/4 cups (280g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 9 cups (1035g) Domino® powdered sugar
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese, cool, but not cold
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp peach filling (above)
Brown Sugar Crumble
- 6 tbsp (50g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp Domino® light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, sliced
Instructions
1. To make the peach filling, add the chopped peaches, brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice to a large saucepan. Heat slowly over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and boil, then mash to break down the peaches.
2. Continue cooking over medium-low heat and let simmer until the filling is reduced by about 1/2, then remove from heat to cool. The filling will have thickened a bit and will continue to thicken as it cools, though it’s not meant to be a super thick filling. Set filling in the fridge to cool.
3. To make the cake layers, prepare two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
4. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
5. Add the butter, brown sugar and vegetable oil to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
6. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until completely combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
8. Add the milk and mix until well combined. The batter will look a little curdled, but that’s ok.
9. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
10. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
11. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
12. When the filling and cakes are ready and cooled, make the frosting. Place the butter in a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
13. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
14. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix until well combined and smooth.
15. Add the salt and peach filling and mix until well combined and smooth.
16. Add the remainder of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
17. To put the cake together, cut both cakes in half lengthwise so that you end up with 4 layers of cake total. To do this, I use a long serrated knife.
18. Place the first layer of cake on a cake plate or cardboard cake circle and top with about 1/3 cup of the frosting. Spread the frosting into an even layer.
19. Pipe a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake and then fill it with roughly 1/3 of the remaining filling.
20. Add the second layer of cake, then repeat another layer of frosting and filling.
21. Add the third layer of cake, then another layer of frosting and filling.
22. Add the final layer of cake on top and then add a thin crumb coat of frosting to the outside of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until firm and sturdy, about 1-2 hours. Set the remainder of the frosting in the fridge and take it out about 30 minutes before you’re ready to continue, so it can soften a bit.
23. Frost the outside of the cake with the remainder of the frosting, then finish it off with some sliced peaches and brown sugar crumble, if you like. To make the brown sugar crumble, combine the flour, brown sugar and butter in a medium-sized bowl and use a fork to press the butter into the dry ingredients until it all forms a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle the mixture over a lined cookie sheet and bake at 350°F (176°C) for about 5-8 minutes, until the crumble pieces starts to brown around the edges. Remove and set aside to cool, then add to the cake.
24. Cover and refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. I recommend setting the cake out for about an hour or so before serving so it’s not quite so cold.
Notes
NOTE: The frosting on this cake is thinner than most frostings I use for layered cakes. Be sure to use the full amount of powdered sugar and don’t add additional moisture, or it will be too thin for layering and holding the filling in place. One the cake is layered together and the crumb coat added, be sure to refrigerate before moving on, so that the frosting firms up and everything stays in place.
NOTE: If you are new to baking, a crumb coat is a very thin layer of frosting spread across the top and sides of an assembled layer cake before it goes into the fridge to chill. The crumb coat catches any stray crumbs and then holds them in place. This is super helpful when frosting the outside of the cake so that everything looks nice and smooth.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 858
- Sugar: 92.9 g
- Sodium: 262.7 mg
- Fat: 41.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 117.6 g
- Protein: 8.8 g
- Cholesterol: 151.1 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
This turned out great! I had never made a filled cake or tried mascarpone frosting, but the peaches drew me in and I knew I had to try it. Only thing I changed up was that I only had 9” pans so I increased cook temp by 25 degrees and reduced cook time by a quarter. It turned out perfect and flavors were fabulous. I didn’t end up adding the crumble, but it was still delicious as it was. Great birthday cake!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Tried it twice, once with the instructions as writte, and again with reverse creaming and minimal mixing, both came out dense and rubbery.
I live at high altitude (8,500 ft). What adjustments would I need to make for this cake?
I’m not sure. I’m not really familiar with high altitude baking, but I hear this guide is helpful.
This recipe is so good!!! Thank you!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
How long prior would you lay out the mascarpone cheese if you don’t want it cold but not room temperature?
It depends a little on your home and the temperature you keep it at, but 10-15 minutes should be plenty.
Can you use the reverse creaming method with this came?
I imagine it would be ok.
This looks so delicious! I’m not a fan of mascarpone, is there another frosting you can suggest? I still want peach frosting. Could I add some peach preserves to my normal American buttercream or ermine frosting?
You could substitute mascarpone cheese for cream cheese or you could certainly try adding peach to another kind of frosting.
Would you use 8oz of cream cheese? The last time I used mascarpone it didn’t go so well.
Yes, that would be fine.
Hello- I have been looking for a recipe involving peaches for over a week. My daughter-in-law absolutely LOVES peach cobbler! Her birthday is Saturday & I’m throwing her a surprise party & peach cobbler isn’t an option for her birthday cake lol I just have a couple questions. Forgive my ignorance, but is mascarpone cheese the same as cream cheese? Also how can I use either canned peaches or peach pie filling or even peach preserves to replace fresh peaches? Thank you for your help!
No, mascarpone cheese is different. It’s softer and has a different flavor. You usually find it in the store in the deli by the specialty cheeses.
For the peaches, you could use canned peaches in the filling in the recipe in place of fresh peaches and it should be fine. If you’d like to use something else, I believe you’ll want about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of peach filling between each layer. I hope that helps!
Thoughts on subbing fresh peaches it’s not peach season. But I want to make this. Cannes or frozen? Any Advice?
Tough call. I’d probably go with canned, since frozen peaches often lack flavor in my opinion.
I had some good success using approx 6 smaller nectarines and a can of peach halves! IT’s January and peaches are definitely not in season. I also opted to add a pinch of cinnamon to the filling to help round out the flavour a little.
Hi,
I tried this recipe to the ‘T’ this weekend and it came out denser than my normal cakes. Can you suggest any tweaks so that it comes out fluffy ? I am a baker so I did not make mistakes like measuring flour as packed etc.
It’s a little hard to say from a distance and I’m not sure what your normal cakes are like. Maybe this is just a little denser than those? But assuming ingredients were measured accurately, you want to be sure you creamed the butter and sugar correctly and didn’t over or under cream. I find that about 2 minutes on medium speed works best. You also want to be sure you didn’t over mix anything. Other than those things, it’s just hard to say without seeing things.
This was super moist and very delicious cake just like your lemon cake. I will be back to try your other cake recipes. Thou, I can’t decorate the cake to make it more pretty but were not eating for the looks right? LOL!! Thank you!!
So glad you enjoyed it!