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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.
You might also like:
Peach Caramel Blondie Cheesecake
Bourbon Peach Streusel Cheesecake
Browned Butter Pecan Layer Cake
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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!
I really love this recipe!
But one of my friends want a non sweet cake! 😬
I would like to make this bread but with less sugar! Should I put more butter if I reduce the amount of sugar? What do you recommend me?
I’m so glad to hear you’ve enjoyed the recipe! I’m sorry, but I really can’t advise on how to make it more bread like.
Hi Lindsey, I was immediately drawn to make this cake. However I baked 3 8 inch pans (only had 3 layers instead of 4. I could not get the filling to stop oozing out the sides. I put it in the freezer once I saw the filling oozing. After about an hour tops it out to try and finish frosting. Nope – the filling just kept oozing out! I’ve made several cakes with a “jam” like filling and have never had this happen! Don’t know what I did wrong. Had a nice thick dam between each layer too!
It’s hard to say from a distance. It’s possible an ingredient was measured a little off in the filling or it needed to cook a little longer. Also, it sounds like maybe the frosting was off if refrigerating didn’t help. Did that seem like the case?
Hi Lindsay. The cake turned out amazing as I paired it with dulce de leche buttercream. I was wondering if I could replace the same butter quantity with brown butter to enhance the flavor. Thanks for all the awesome recipes.
I made this last year and my boss literally said “This was the best cake she’s ever had!” Gonna try it again this weekend but I want to add raspberries with the peaches, do you think 3 cups of peaches and 3 cups of raspberries would be good? I say 3 and 3 because I want to do this in 9″ pans. With doing it in 9″ pans, what is your suggestion on the measurements for the filling and frosting?
I’m so glad it was a hit! I would think that amount of peaches and raspberries would be ok, though you may want to add a touch more cornstarch so it’s thick enough. As for the frosting, you could try to make a little extra, or just have a thinner frosting layer on the outside of the cake.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m having some trouble finding mascarpone in the stores now though, any suggestions on a different frosting to pair with the cake?
You could replace the mascarpone cheese with some cream cheese.
Hi! Can this be made into cupcakes? If so, how many cupcakes do you think one batch of batter will make?
I haven’t tried it as cupcakes to know for sure, but I would think it’d be fine. You should be able to get about two dozen cupcakes.
Hi, I didn’t make cake – just the filling and it is delicioius! I needed a peach cake filling for next Friday (a week away) and wanted to test this filling to see how the flavor was. I need it to fill a cake in a week. Can the filling be frozen or will it break down when thawed? I doubt it would last in the fridge till then. Or will I just need to make a new batch? Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m glad you are happy with it! I haven’t tried freezing it so I’m not sure but it is possible that it would break down. It’s probably best to only keep it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
HELP! I want to make this cake so badly! I tried to make it this past weekend (twice) and because of the filling it slid everywhere. Great flavor but I was left feeling a little defeated :).
I did add the recommended amount of cornstarch but could I use a different thickening agent such as tapioca or plain bread crumbs?
Also, could I pulse the peaches in the blender first and then thicken it on the stove?!?!
I would appreciate any advice!
Thanks – Angela
If things are sliding all over, it isn’t necessarily the filling but probably the way the cake was layered together. Did you cut the domes off the top of the cake layers? Also the frosting needs to be thick enough to hold everything in place. Here’s a little tutorial on layering a cake together that might be helpful. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/how-to-fill-and-stack-a-layer-cake/
Hi, This recipe is delicious exactly what I was looking for. I only have 9” cake pans so I want to bake this cake in 3 of them. I think maybe doing 2 & trying to cut them could be an issue. Since they’ll be thinner, I know I’ll need to reduce baking time, maybe even oven temp to 325? Any suggestions are appreciated.
You will need to reduce the baking time, but not the oven temp.
An actual KILO of sugar?!?
Can you make peach filling ahead of time, say with summer fresh peaches and freeze for later use?
I am concerned that the filling will be to thin/liquidity upon thawing to use for cake.
Thanks MJ
Well I haven’t tried it before, I think it would be fine.
Can I strain the 6 tbsp peach filling before I put it in the icing to reduce the apearence of peach bits or is it too thick to fit through a strainer?
It is fairly thick. You may be able to press it through a strainer but I’m not completely sure.
how thin is really thin for the icing? Too thin to do any piping decorations with? And if so is there anyway I can thicken some of it up?
It’s been a while since I made this particular frosting. I do remember it being thin, but I can’t remember if it’s too thin for piping or not. If it is, you could try refrigerating it for a bit so it is a little cooler and firmer. The other option is to add more powdered sugar.
Can you freeze this cake?
I don’t usually freeze whole cakes, so I can’t say for sure. Frozen slices are usually fine.
This sounds amazing but I’m confused about the brown sugar. I’ve never seen a recipe calling for sifted brown sugar. Is there a reason for this? Also do you discard any lumps? I’m hoping maybe this is just a typo. I have some nectarines at home just begging to be baked so I think this is what I’ll make!
Sifting isn’t really necessary. I would try to remove lumps if you see any big ones. I hope you enjoy it!
The icing is too sweet, even with only 5 cups of icing. It is also very thin. I suggest, highly, that you put the peaches on the cake, pop it in the fridge to firm up, and do the next layer the same way. The filling plus the softness of the icing is going to make those layers slide. This isn’t my first cake rodeo. I’m going to wait 1 month and make it again.
Yolanda, the fact that you reduced the powdered sugar to only 5 cups is precisely the reason your frosting is too thin. If you reduce the powdered sugar, you also have to reduce the liquid ingredients otherwise you get frosting that is very thin. It’s all about frosting consistency. Two little dry ingredients plus too much liquid equals a too thin frosting. If you were going to try this again, I suggest using the full amount of powdered sugar or reducing all the ingredients in the frosting equally.
Does this cake have to be kept refrigerated or is it stable at room temperature?
It’s stable at room temperature for a while, but you’ll want to refrigerate it if not using within a few hours. The mascarpone cheese in the frosting definitely needs to be refrigerated.