Peach Ginger Cake
Featuring freshly grated ginger in both the cake as well as the frosting, this Peach Ginger Cake makes for a tasty dessert on a warm summer evening!
As I noted recently in this post for Peach Streusel Muffins, I’ve really been enjoying adding a bit of ground ginger to my peach recipes lately. Well, I decided to take my ginger game to the next level. I picked up a piece of fresh ginger at the store, and I grated that ginger into both the cake as well as the frosting for this Peach Ginger Cake. Holy cow!
Dried ginger is typically preferred for baking recipes, while fresh ginger is often used in savory recipes. However, I really wanted to highlight the combination of peaches and ginger in this cake, so I opted for fresh ginger.
I will admit that ground ginger is a bit easier to use as you just measure out the amount and dump it into the bowl. With fresh ginger, you need to grate it using a fine grater. You’ll end up with a wet pulp that can then be mixed into the cake and frosting.
Fresh ginger is more intense than it’s dried cousin, but it works really well combined with the peaches and pecans in this Peach Ginger Cake. In fact, I had a hard time putting the fork down and walking away!
Peach Ginger Cake
In addition to the stronger ginger flavor in this cake, I also opted for a whipped cream + cream cheese frosting. This frosting is a bit looser, but it works really well in this ‘naked cake’ form. (By naked cake, I mean a cake where the sides are left unfrosted.)
In addition to piling freshly chopped peaches and toasted pecans on top of this cake, I also put a layer of peaches in the center of the cake. All together, this Peach Ginger Cake ended up with fantastic flavor! It’s a great way to use peaches when they are at the peak of summer ripeness. And this cake is a fun way to experiment with fresh ginger, too.
As this cake uses fresh peaches as a topping, it unfortunately does not save that well overnight. We shared this cake with our neighbors, so we didn’t have to worry too much about leftovers. (We did have 2 slices left over, and we wrapped and refrigerated the slices overnight. The cake still tasted great the next day, but the peaches began to turn a bit brown. Long story short – plan on enjoying this cake the day it is made!
I hope you enjoy this Peach Ginger Cake as much as we do! We still have a bunch of fresh peaches in our fridge, and I’m seriously contemplating making this cake again. Happy baking!
Did you make this Peach Ginger Cake at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Peach Ginger Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- ½ Tbsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 12 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp grated fresh ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 cups fresh peaches peeled, pitted and diced, divided
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spray (2) 9” round cake pans with nonstick baking spray; set pans aside.
- Using a countertop mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (~3-4 minutes on medium speed).
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing fully after each addition.
- Using a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add mixture to the bowl of the countertop mixer; mix until well combined.
- Add buttermilk, grated ginger and vanilla extract; mix until well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly into the 2 prepared pans. Bake for 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out mostly clean.
- Remove cakes from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes.
- Turn cakes out of pans onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
For the Frosting
- Using a large bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Using a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, grated ginger and salt until smooth.
- Fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture; gently stir until well combined.
- Fold in the remaining whipped cream; gently stir until well combined.
- Place one layer of cake on a large cake plate. Spread ~half of the frosting on top. Sprinkle half of the diced peaches on top of the frosting.
- Place second layer of cake on top and spread remaining frosting on top.
- Using a dry skillet, lightly toast chopped pecans over medium heat until fragrant (~4-5 minutes).
- Garnish top of cake with remaining peaches and chopped pecans.
- Refrigerate cake for 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Looking for more peach recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Will be making this soon for the cake can i use vegan butter / butter milk and for the frosting can i use coconut cream and vegan cream cheese as am dairy free i never had peach ginger cake before perfect for my birthday next month on 19 and after office snacks will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Sorry wasnt planning to comment on this today but since my birthday is next month on 19 and looks perfect for my birthday next month on 19
No problem at all, Ramya! You could certainly use vegan options here – I think this cake would be fantastic for celebrating a birthday!!
OOOOH, David! This cake looks and sound absolutely perfect! I love fresh ginger, but rarely use it for baking! I definitely need to change my ways! After all, it’s peach season, as well as peach cake season! Totally brilliant recipe, my friend!
I agree with you, Laura! After making this cake, I immediately decided that I need to use fresh ginger in baking projects more often. It was a fantastic flavor, and it paired so well with the peaches and toasted pecans. I highly recommend this one!! 🙂
Peach and ginger make such a beautiful combination, and I love the continuation of your peach experiments! This cake looks and sounds absolutely delicious – it’s light, rich (thanks to cream cheese) yet not too decadent – perfect summer dessert! I also think you could use some peach jam (let’s say between two layers), just for the added flavour and different texture.
Yes! I have had a bunch of fun with the peach experiments this summer, Ben. And I’ve been eating a bunch of those peaches just plain, too. Yum! So this cake (with this frosting)? Fantastic! I love the additional layer of flavor from that fresh ginger. And you might be onto something with that peach jam idea, too. After all, more peaches is always a good thing!!
i love ginger and esp. fresh ginger. your cake looks amazing david. the buderim ginger factory is about an hour and a half up the coast from us here in brisbane and i believe it supplies about 60% of the world’s edible ginger products! astonishing!
Interesting note about the buderim ginger factory. I had no idea Brisbane was the home to so much ginger – check off the box about learning something new every day! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Ohhh I never had thought of combining these two together. Gotta try this one out
Definitely try the peach + ginger combo, Raymund! It’s quite fantastic!
Well, who doesn’t like being told that they have to eat the entire cake the same day it’s made? You are such an inventive baker, David! I love your ideas. And the crumb on this cake looks absolutely perfect. I bet it’d go great with a cup of tea.
Haha – my thoughts exactly! I love cake, and while I do normally want that cake to last for a few days, there is something nice about making a cake and having it disappear on the same day. (Feel free to invite friends over…or just keep it for yourself!) The flavor on this cake is truly delicious…perhaps I should rethink a version that will last a few days?