The easiest cake you will ever make, this summer peach and strawberry cake is my go-to recipe for warm weather birthdays and parties. It's light on the sugar, getting most of its sweetness from the fresh fruit.
Normally I'm not a fan of cakes but this one has changed my mind for 3 reasons:
- It's insanely easy to make.
- It's not too sweet.
- It's absolutely beautiful for very minimal effort.
- It only requires one pan.
- Whoops, I was supposed to stop at 3.
Icing just takes soooo muchhhhh efforrtttttt. And sugar. But with this cake I feel so much less guilty about having five two pieces. I've loved this cake ever since I had something similar in Beaune at The Cook's Atelier. I've been cooking through their amazing cookbook on particularly rough days and trying new ways to make them migraine-friendly.
The Best Butter & Fruit
Because this recipe is limited on ingredients it's important to use the best that you can find. Good butter is essential, and luckily for those on a migraine diet, we're kind of stuck with only using good butter. This is because many brands use "natural flavoring" or hidden msg in their butter to make up for poor ingredients. Kerrygold is a favorite of mine that's widely available, but it's certainly not the only brand that's good.
I used strawberries and peaches here because they're both in season and migraine-friendly. If you are sensitive to histamine, simply leave out the strawberries and use only peaches!
Mascarpone in Cake
The original recipe calls for creme fraiche for some added tang, but since creme fraiche is fermented (often made of real buttermilk) it's not migraine-friendly. The natural substitute, like sour cream is out as well. I've tried whipped cottage cheese, but when baking so long at high heat, I don't love the idea of it curdling. That's when mascarpone came to mind. Instead of tang you get a rich flavor and a texture that's super moist.
Other Notes
- I haven't tried this recipe with gluten free flour, but I imagine it would be an easy substitute. It may just need to cook a little bit longer.
- Feel free to substitute the fruit out. If you can't find good peaches, use all strawberries, and if you can't tolerate strawberries, use all peaches.
- This cake freezes BEAUTIFULLY. I defrost it at room temperature, top it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and it looks good as new.
- If you have vanilla sugar then this is the perfect time to use it, but it's not essential. To make vanilla sugar, simply take used vanilla pods, leave them out to dry, and place them in your cane sugar canister.
- All you need is one 9 inch cake pan, that's it. But sometimes I like these to make my life easier.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my friends and family have lately!
Other easy desserts:
5 Ingredient White Chocolate Cereal Bars (GF)
Gooey Blondies (GF)
Vanilla Sunbutter Mug Cake (GF)
White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (GF)
Strawberry Peach Cake
Equipment
- 9 inch cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour *See Pantry Staples post for flour recommendations
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¼ cup mascarpone cheese
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large peach, cut into thin slices (no need to remove skin)
- ⅓ cup strawberries, sliced thin and tops trimmed
- Optional: Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your 9 inch cake pan by lightly greasing it all over (I use the butter wrapper), and placing a parchment round inside at the bottom. Take a small spoonful of flour and shake the pan around to thoroughly coat the inside. Dump out any excess flour and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the mascarpone cheese and milk until combined.
- In a large bowl, mixed softened butter until light and creamy (you can do this by hand or with a mixer). Add the granulated cane sugar and mix until thoroughly combined. Then add 1 large egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extra - I mix this in by hand with a spatula until well combined and smooth.
- Alternating flour mixture and milk/mascarpone mixture, add them in small increments, stirring after each addition until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, tapping it a few times on your counter to get it smooth and level.
- Place sliced peaches in a layered pattern on top of the cake batter, then slide strawberries in between each slice. Make sure the fruit doesn't touch the side of the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake should be a lovely golden brown on top. Allow it to cool at least 30 minutes then slide a knife along the sides of the pan. The cake should release easily. Place it on a serving platter and serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving, if desired.
Notes
- For this recipe, you can use all peaches or all strawberries depending on your preference.
- Allowing the cake to fully cool will help it firm up and make it easier to transfer to a serving platter.
- Cooking time tends to vary for this dish depending on how much fruit I use. It's helpful to check around the 50 minute mark, but expect it to take between 50-60 minutes to bake.
- To freeze, cut in individual pieces and place in a freezer safe container or ziplock freezer bags. Thaw at room temperature.
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I made this with just strawberries for my sons first birthday and it was a massive success. It took a little longer in my oven but the fruit and mascarpone kept to lovely and moist.
This cake is delightful! I made it today after grabbing a bunch of super yummy smelling peaches at the store. So easy to do, my pre-schooler and I had it mixed up and in the oven in no time! I have a dairy intolerance so I left out the marscapone and subbed out the whole milk for oatmilk. I did leave in the butter since I tolerate that fine. I also used King Arthur Gluten Free all purpose flour. The cake turned out so soft and fluffy! Looking forward to make this all year round with whatever fruit is in season!
This is one of the first recipes I tried on the HYH diet and it helped me see that there are tasty things to eat- and fun things to bake- while eating head smart. Yum!
Is that definitely a table spoon of baking powder? Seems a lot 😊
Yes it is accurate. I recommend aluminum free.
This cake looks delicious! Has anyone tried making it with oat milk or hemp?
You can, but with the butter and the mascarpone I figured it's kinda pointless to do a dairy free milk?
Hi Alicia! I've been dealing with chronic migraine since college, though it's gotten substantially worse since turning 30 this year (go figure). Therefore, I'm just now starting the HYH diet, and I am so excited to discover your site! Thank you so much for creating this. I've already pre-ordered your cookbook!
This cake looks so delish. Since it's not exactly summer, however, peaches are not in season... Do you think it would work to make this with frozen peaches? Or would you recommend going the strawberries only route?
Thanks and happy new year! 🙂
Hey Laura, Wow, 30 was when mine happened as well. I'm so glad you found me though and hope this all helps you feel much better (and thanks for the book support!!).
I actually recommend using apples this time of year! My favorite are honeycrisp, but any sweet apple will do. Thinly slice them and place them on top of the cake batter the same way. It is DELICIOUS (and actually I think I might even prefer it this way). But of course if you love strawberries, you can certainly do all those.
I am definitely trying this recipe. It sounds delicious!