These delicious Peach Cupcakes are the perfect dessert recipe to serve in the summertime… or any time of year you are craving summer. Whether you’re having a BBQ, picnic, or even a beach day, these will be your go-to recipe this summer.
I’m just getting around to updating this old recipe. I debated calling them peaches and cream cupcakes but ultimately felt they didn’t have the right kind of cream I was looking for. Cream cheese, yes, sweet cream, no. Like cherry season, I wish peach season were longer.
Peach Cupcake Recipe
Instead I changed the name from “Just Peachy”, which I thought was adorable, to plain old Peach Cupcakes. Peach Cupcakes were inspired by Peach Cobbler Cupcakes from Gigi’s Cupcakes. I’ve still never tasted the real thing, but I had heard of their fun and whimsical flavors and Peach Cobbler was one of them.
What motivated me beyond wanting to taste juicy peaches? Nostalgia. I found out that Roald Dahl Day was coming. You see, he was my favorite author as a child. Fantastic Mr. Fox was the first chapter book I ever read and other favorites like Matilda and James and The Giant Peach, I read over and over again.
What You’ll Need
The ingredient list appears along, but other than peach rings (optional), canned peaches and cream cheese, all of the ingredients are standard kitchen staples.
- Flour– The easiest and most verstile, flour gives baked good structure.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda– Both are leaveners, meaning they give lift and loft to baked goods and create all of those lovely air pockets that make things fluffy.
- Unsalted Butter- The fat base of this cupcake recipe, I always use unsalted because I want to control the amount of the salt in the recipe, but also salt tends to dry things out and we want our cupcakes to be juicy.
- White Sugar & Brown Sugar- A slight touch of molasses from brown sugar complements the peaches perfectly.
- Eggs- Used as a binder and also for structure.
- Honey– Just a touch of honey gives an unexpected flavor combo. Yes, we have several sweeteners, not including the actual peaches, but this match is what makes them unique and so tasty.
- Vanilla- To balance and create depth of flavor.
- Buttermilk- Instead of using water or plain milk, buttermilk has more body and fat content, but also a slightly tart taste.
- Sparkling Water- Don’t discount those bubbles! Bonus points if you can find peach flavored.
- Canned Peaches– I used to make a homemade compote, but honestly, canned peaches are a huge time saver. Buy them in slices and chop them yourself or grab a can of chopped. Drain well before using. Alternately, chop up fresh peaches and toss them in; I just run into the problem of eating them all before they make it to the cupcakes.
Cream Cheese Frosting & Garnish:
If you are short on time, just grab a tub of cream cheese frosting from the store and whip in peach extract or go plain. With the lovely peach rings on top and real peaches tucked away inside, there is enough juicy peach to go around.
- Unsalted Butter– Again, if you are using salted, omit the additional salt.
- Cream Cheese– The base for this frosting. You can opt for a buttercream instead.
- Powdered Sugar- To make it sweet and thicken the base for frosting.
- Peach Extract– Peach extract or peach flavoring will both work. And if you don’t want to use either of these, simply swap it with vanilla and call it a day.
- Sparkling Water- Also used to flavor and thin out the frosting, but with added pizzazz.
- Peach Rings– Nothing drives it home that these are peach cupcakes like a sweet and sour peach ring right on top. Fresh peach slices can also be used, but I really like peach rings.
How to Make Peach Cupcakes
- Preheat oven and line one or two cupcake tins with cupcake liners. If you fill them correctly, you should get 18-20 cupcakes.
- Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Don’t skip the sifting- without it you’ll wind up with pockets of leaveners instead of them evenly blending throughout the batter.
- In a separate large bowl or mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until creamy and pale. This incorporates in air and helps the batter becomes light and fluffy. Add the sugars and continue to beat until fully combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the honey and vanilla.
- Alternate adding the buttermilk, flour mixture and seltzer water until all ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix! Over mixing can make the cupcakes tough (see notes below).
- Fill each muffin tin a scant 1/3 way. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the peaches on top of batter followed by an additional dollop of cake batter to cover, just enough to cover.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops gently bounce back when touched and are slightly browned. Cool completely before frosting.
Make the Frosting:
- Beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy and then add the powdered sugar, peach or vanilla extract and seltzer until creamy. If frosting is too thick, add small amounts of peach soda until spreadable.
- Place into a piping bag fitted with a large round or star attachment, frost and place a peach ring on top of the cupcake. You can also slather on the frosting using an offset spatula.
A few tips for making the moistest cupcakes ever!
- Do not overmix the batter. The most commonly made mistake in making a cake is overworking the batter. This is actually made easier when you are using a stand mixer because we overestimate how long the batter has been beaten. Pay attention!
- Sift the dry ingredients. Even if you are using a boxed cake mix, sift the cake mix to get out any clumps. This will make it blend better, but also make it less likely that you will over mix.
- Eggs make a cake moist and yolks make them even more moist. Try adding one or two extra yolks to your favorite cake recipe and watch the crumb get even crumblier. Yes, I made that word up!
- Don’t over bake your cake! This might seem like it is super apparent, but many folks wait too long before taking the cake out of the oven and presto, dry cake. Whomp, whomp.
- Measure your flour. You might think you measure your flour, but are you doing it correct? Scoop flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a flat spatula or butter knife. Don’t pack it down, just let is sit how it did when you scooped it. Additional flour makes cake dry and even have a slight heap on your measuring cup could be the culprit.
- Never overfill the cupcake tins. They should be just a little over half full unless the recipe specifies otherwise.
Storage & Freezing
Any baked good is best enjoyed the same day as baking or close thereafter. Store these peach cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Cupcakes can be frozen unfrosted or frosted in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw at room temperature.
More Easy Cupcakes Recipes:
- Banana Cupcakes
- Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Rainbow Cupcakes
- Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
- Black Bottom Cupcakes
Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Delicious Brownie Cupcakes topped with whipped peanut butter frosting because chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven!
See The Recipe!
Stuffed Cannoli Cupcakes
These EASY Cannoli Cupcakes are stuffed with classic cannoli filling, topped with cream cheese frosting and topped with cherries & chips.
See The Recipe!
Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey’s Frosting
Chocolate cupcakes laced with Guinness Stout Beer and topped with fluffy Irish cream Bailey's frosting. Perfect for St. Patrick's Day!
See The Recipe!
Peach Cupcake Recipe
Peach Cupcakes embody all that is summer. Sweet and juicy peaches make these light cupcakes with peach cream cheese frosting just perfect!
Servings: cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sparkling water- plain or peach flavored
- 1 1/2 cups canned peaches , drained and chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon peach extract , or vanilla
- 3 tablespoons sparkling water- plain or peach flavored
Decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl or mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until creamy and pale.
- Add the sugars and continue to beat until fully combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Lastly, add the honey and vanilla, blend until smooth.
- Alternate adding the buttermilk, flour mixture and seltzer water until all ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix! Over mixing can make the cupcakes tough.
- Place cupcake liners in cupcake tin. Fill each wrapper 1/3 way. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the peaches on top of batter followed by an additional dollop of cake batter to cover
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops gently bounce back when touched and are slightly browned. Cool completely.
Make the Frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar, extract and seltzer. Blend until creamy and appropriate frosting consistency. If frosting is too thick, add small amounts of peach soda until spreadable.
- Place into a piping bag fitted with a large round or star attachment, frost cupcakes and top with a peach ring.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!
Nutrition
Calories: 359 kcal, Carbohydrates: 58 g, Protein: 3 g, Fat: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 7 g, Cholesterol: 62 mg, Sodium: 91 mg, Potassium: 168 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 46 g, Vitamin A: 590 IU, Vitamin C: 2.7 mg, Calcium: 48 mg, Iron: 1 mg
This recipe is delicious! I did have to add more powder sugar to make it stiffer for decorating. We used this for my granddaughter’s Sweet as a Peach 1st birthday party.
So glad you loved them!
So Tasty! Easy to make. Will definitely make these again!
Can you omit the peaches completely. Or can I add peach purée to the batter instead or can peach extract be used
You can probably do ALL of those things! Just watch the baking time because you are adjusting the volume and liquid volume, the baking times will go up and down.
Can the peaches be fresh. We have lots
Yes! But I would recommend cooking them down a bit so they are more of a jam. This recipe was originally made with fresh, but so many people wanted canned that I had to change it!
Wantung to make these peach cupcakes for my daughters baby shower. The theme is “Sweet as a Peach” I was wondering if anyone has ever made the cupcakes and froze them?
What are the peaches for? They’re on the ingredients list and never referred to in the instructions.
The canned peaches? Or the peach rings? The peach rings are just a serving suggestion. The canned peaches are the last ingredient in the peach cupcakes and in step #6. There is a link to purchase peach rings in the post.
HI! i am making this right now and i still have almost have the batter left over after filling 18 cupcakes. is something incorrect on here?
Nope, should be correct. Sometimes muffin wells can be slightly different sizes, you should be good.
Will kids 3 & 4 years like this? It’s actually for my granddaughter’s 1st birthday but there will be older kids there. The theme is “Sweet as a Peach”
Hi Judy, my kids do! They are sweet and peach, it should be perfect 🙂
The cakes are great, but the frosting… oh boy. The sugar doesn’t blend in with the butter and cream cheese. My mom later explained that first you’re supposed to mix the sugar and butter until it’s creamy, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Welp, into the trashcan.
Nora- I’m sorry you had that issue. I have never had an issue blending together the butter and cream cheese, then the rest of the ingredients. Are you sure you used powdered sugar because even if you didn’t add them in the right order, the frosting shouldn’t be a trashcan-able mess.
It seems that it’s been a while since this recipe was posted; however, I’ve stumbled upon it today and I’m looking forward to making these for a party this weekend. I’m seeing in the comments that you are supposed to make a compote out of the peaches for the filling but I’m not finding any instructions on how to do that. I plan to use canned peaches in peach juice so how would I go about preparing them to make the compote filling?
Yes! Hi Andre- you are on top of things and you know what- we just changed the recipe, took new photos and are about to get them up and posted. We’ve tested it using the canned peaches and you are good to go using that recipe.
I’m in the process of making your recipe but I’m having trouble finding “peach soda”. What can I substitute it with ?
Also at the beginning of your recipe you say to peel the beaches, boil then put in a water bath and the skin should come off easy, the skin is already off so I skipped the water bath part.
Thank you.
Any type of peach flavored soda water- or just use a bubbly seltzer. The bubbles are what you need to make it light and airy- the flavor is a bonus.
Jessica i am going try this recipe but with white cake mix i would like to put in a liquid peach flavoring substitute water what do u think
Go for it! You can use a peach puree or peach extract too. Come back and let us know how it works out.
i like your cup cake.
Why soda? Can this liquid be substituted for something else like a spirit (peach whiskey) or does it have to be a carbonated drink to make the recipe come together?
Hi Shantrell, I was just looking for something peach flavored. You can use any liquid you prefer.
Thanks Jessica they turned out excellent 🙂
Great! So happy to hear that!!!
What about torani syrup peach
I would think it would work and be super tasty!
Could you use canned peaches to make the compote? Peaches aren’t overly available this time of year where I live.
You can, but I would use canned peaches in juice (not syrup) and reduce the cooking time.
These look so good I think I would add about 1 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg
That sounds delicious! What a great idea!
I just lost your gorgeous cupcakes in my spam folder, fb ate them, would you mind sharing again?? Nettie
Sent! I hope you enjoy them!
These look delicous and moist!
Thank you! And thank you for stopping by!