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Rustic Peach Cornmeal Cake

A super moist sour cream-based cake that's scented with almonds and just the right amount of cornmeal for taste + texture. The perfect cake for brunch or after dinner...or anytime! xo
5 from 1 review
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Cake
Keyword: Sheet Cake, Peach, Almond, Summer, Baking, Dessert
Servings: 1 8x10 Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • ¾ cup (144 g) granulated sugar
  • 8 tablespoons 1 stick/½ cup/4 oz/ 113 g)  unsalted butter, (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  • 2 large eggs, (room temperature)
  • 3/4 cup (180 g) sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1 ½ cups (203 g) all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
  • ¼ cup (40 g) cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • About 6-8 California Cling Peach halves, ((2 15.25 oz cans; drained and patted dry); Can replace the canned peaches with fresh, ripe California peach halves)
  • 3 tablespoons sliced almonds
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

For Garnish

  • 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (optional)

Instructions

For the Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease an 8x10 baking dish (see note in Before We Get Started) and line with parchment paper, letting the excess fall over the sides. Set aside.
  • In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the sugar, butter and nutmeg and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure the first is well blended before adding in the next. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that everything is well blended. Add in the sour cream and almond extract and run the mixer on low until everything is well incorporated. Take the bowl out of the mixer and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Using a spatula, fold into the butter mixture using as few strokes as possible and the last traces of flour have just disappeared. Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared baking dish using an offset spatula, spatula or back of a spoon to smooth the top. This batter is thick and can feel difficult to spread over the parchment. I put clips on the side of the pan to hold the parchment into place while I did the spreading and smoothing. Place the peaches cut side down on top of the cake batter, then sprinkle with the sliced almonds and then the sugar. When sprinkling with the sugar, make sure you cover any bits of batter still showing around the peaches to give it that deliciously crispy top.
  • Bake in the center of the oven for 47-50 minutes and/or the edges are bronzed up, the center puffed up and a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the peaches) comes out clean (some cake crumbs are ok, but it shouldn't be coated in batter). Let the pan cool for 15-20 minutes in the baking dish before using the parchment overhand to pull it out of the pan to finish cooling on a rack.

To Serve

  • Serve at room temperature. Once cool, dust with confectioners' sugar if you're feeling it. Have a mentioned this is delightful with vanilla ice cream? Enjoy!
Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo