Peach Hot Sugar Crust Cake

Name: Peach Hot Sugar Crust Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients: 10 Peaches (cut into medium cubes); 1 Lemon (juice); 150 gm Yogurt; 150 ml Milk; 1 tsp Baking soda; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp Lemon juice; 100 ml Oil; 150 gm Sugar; 300 gm Flour; Pinch of salt; 1 tsp Vanilla; 100 gm Sugar; 120 ml Hot water

This recipe is eggless and perfect for summer. Filled with fresh peaches, lemon juice and a simple cake batter that is topped with hot water and sugar to create the crunchiest crust on top.

My Peach hot sugar crust cake recipe is a mash up of peach cobbler, peach pie and peaches & cream all combined. It makes for the most delicious dessert and not to mention, extremely pretty for a dinner party table center piece.

There is no science to this recipe apart from the fact that the hot water and granulated sugar on top of the cake batter is essential to get that crust. As the water heats in the oven, it sinks to the bottom of the baking tray. With the cake batter rising to the top, allowing the sugar to caramelize ever so lightly and creating this hard sugar crust on the top.

As any good baking recipe, this one starts off with all your ingredients weighed out and ready to go.I always use this weighing scale. The fruit is pitted and chopped into large cubes. I like keeping the fruit chunky as it holds its shape well once baked and doesn’t turn into a jam at the bottom of the baking dish. Toss the chopped fruit through some lemon juice and this will add a freshness to the entire dessert.

Making the cake batter is just as simple if not simpler, in a bowl we add the yogurt, milk, baking powder, baking soda and a little lemon juice. Stir this around and let it get frothy. This will help keep the cake moist and fluffy once baked, since it is an eggless recipe. We then add some oil, sugar and whisk again to combine. We aren’t beating air into the mixture so don’t go crazy. Add the flour salt and little vanilla, mix until no dry ingredients are visible and pour over the peaches. Now I bake this in a 9inch round glass pie dish, you can use any 9 inch oven proof tin you have. These glass dishes are so useful as you can see it bake and it looks very pretty on a dinning table while serving.

Baking the Peach hot sugar crust cake

At this point we smooth out the top with a spatula and sprinkle over the remaining sugar as evenly as possible. Gently pour over the hot water and let it sit for a minute before transferring to the oven. I let it sit for a minute so the water starts to seep down to the fruit.

At this stage, bake it in a preheated oven at 170℃ for 40-45 mins. You will know it is done when the top is golden brown, the sugar has hardened creating a crust. The peaches have released its juices which are now bubbling on the sides. You cannot test this cake by poking a tooth pick into the center as it will have fruit juices at the bottom. But if you are unsure, poke it with a knife and you shouldn’t have wet batter on it, a few wet crumbs is fine.

A point to keep in mind, I always get asked what oven I use? Or what oven is good for domestic use? I will hands down say Sage/Breville Smart Oven is fantastic. If you are looking to buy an oven for domestic use then Check out this link on Amazon for more information. I am not paid by Safe/Breville (Lol, I wish!) but I am part of the Amazon affiliate program.

Substitutes

Flour –

I’ve used all purpose flour but cake flour or spelt flour would work well here. To make this recipe gluten free you can use Gluten free flour mix (I like using Bobs Red Mill Gluten free flour mix) OR you could use 200 gm Almond flour and 50 gm Corn flour.

Sugar –

I’ve used granulated sugar but you can use cane sugar, coconut sugar or even castor sugar. But don’t use powdered sugar or soft brown sugar as this will not help give the cake that gorgeous crust.

Vegan –

The recipe is eggless but if you wanted it to be dairy free use any dairy free yogurt and milk you prefer. I have and this recipe using coconut yogurt and almond milk which is delicious.

Peaches –

If you don’t have peaches you can use nectarines, plums or fresh apricots. But then it won’t be a Peach Hot Crust Sugar Cake.

Lemons –

You don’t have fresh lemons, you can sue limes. If you are using apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar you must half the quantity as they are much stronger in flavor.

Storing the Peach hot sugar crust cake

Once the dessert is baked it is best served hot or warm with some cold double cream, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. You can make this dessert ahead and bake it an hour before you will serve the dessert. It tastes yummier the next day though however the juices would have been soaked up by the sponge hence you need to warm it up in the microwave before serving. You can portion the cake into an air tight container and store it in the fridge for 4-5 days. As there is fresh fruit in the recipe I wouldn’t recommend storing this at room temperature or longer than the suggested time frame.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking. Now that we have covered how to make this Peach hot sugar crust cake, let us get to it. Happy baking ninjas!