Peaches and Cream Dump Cake from Scratch
I became a bit obsessed with the concept of dump cakes, but not the reality. Let me explain. One Google pass at the term and what comes up again and again and again are cakes using goopy sweet canned fruit, cake mixes and the like. Not the way to celebrate fresh fruit in my opinion. So I decided to develop a peach or nectarine dump cake using scratch ingredients and technique. This bakes up with a simple cake base, a “peaches and cream” flavor profile rounded out with brown sugar and pecans. Super easy and so much better than using canned fruit.
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sliced, peeled peaches or nectarines (about 6 medium fruit)
- ½ cup pecan halves or pieces
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Have ready a 13 x 9-inch baking dish or similar sized ceramic casserole dish. (We used our Emile Henry gratin dish)
- Place butter in pan and place in oven to melt butter. Remove from oven and place on rack or heatproof counter.
- Whisk in sugar and ½ cup of the brown sugar, then whisk in eggs and spices. Add flour, make a few strokes with your whisk, then add milk and cream, baking powder and salt and whisk until combined. Scatter peaches or nectarines on top, followed by pecans and then remaining ¼ cup brown sugar.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle shows a few moist crumbs clinging. Cool on a rack until warm. Serve warm or room temperature. A little bit of unsweetened or lightly sweetened whipped cream is a nice touch. Store covered with aluminum foil at room temperature for up to 2 days.

This is excellent, great for dessert as well as breakfast, with a little heavy cream drizzled on top. A couple of notes: 6 medium peaches is a lot more than 2 cups of sliced fruit. I used 4 medium peaches, which measured more than 3 cups when sliced. That amount of fruit seemed about right. I had to bake it for 1 hour and 15 minutes before it was cooked in the center. Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback Rebecca. Wish I still had those peaches around so I could weigh them. Such as the vagaries of not using weight! Will try the cream next time, too.