This peach poke cake is the perfect summer dessert—light, fruity, and irresistibly delicious. It starts with a soft and tender sourdough discard vanilla cake, soaked in a juicy homemade peach compote and finished with a fluffy whipped cream frosting. Despite its beautiful, layered look, this easy peach dessert comes together with simple ingredients and minimal effort. If you’re looking for a creative way to use sourdough discard and impress guests at your next summer gathering, this cake is guaranteed to become a seasonal favorite.
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Discard – Unfed, inactive sourdough starter.
Butter – One stick of softened butter.
Flour – Unbleached all-purpose flour.
Sugar – Both brown sugar and granulated sugar.
Peaches – Seasonal, ripe peaches.
Milk – I like whole milk, but you can use whatever milk substitutes you like.
Heavy whipping cream – Homemade whipped cream is so delicious and easy. Totally worth that little bit of extra work.
Lemon Juice – For extra brightness and flavor.
👩🍳 How to make Peach Poke Cake
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt) and set aside.
- In a stand mixer on low speed, beat your butter and sugars together with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the eggs one at a time. Add milk and vanilla extract until everything is fully incorporated. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula if you need to.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl. When everything is almost fully combined, add in the sourdough discard until there are no more streaks and a smooth batter forms.
- Preheat your oven to 375.
- Transfer the batter to a greased 9×13 baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Peach Filling
- While the cake is baking, peel and slice 4 peaches and add them to a saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. When the sugar has dissolved, use an immersion blender to blend it all together to your liking. I like a smooth puree, but you can leave some chunks of peach if you like!
- Let the puree come to a boil and then simmer for 3-4 minutes to let it slightly thicken up.
- Use a straw to poke holes all over the cake and pour the peach filling directly on top. Use a spatula to smooth the purée over the cake and fill in the holes.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Whipped Topping
- In a stand mixer with the wire whisk, whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream on medium – high heat for 2 – 3 minutes. When peaks start to form, slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla until there are stiff peaks – another 2 – 3 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and top with the whipped cream frosting.
- Serve chilled and with a glass of peach tea! 🙂
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- If you don’t have the 2 hours to chill the cake before serving, it will work more like a layered cake but still be delicious!
- If you don’t have fresh peaches on hand, you can also use a one can of peaches, pour off half of the liquid, and puree the same way. This also makes it possible to make this cake all year long.
- If you don’t want to make a sheet pan like cake, separate the batter into circle cake pans and make a layered cake with the peach purée in the middle!
🗒 Variations
I’m not big on cookies – but I am big on cake! It’s so simple to add seasonal flair to a really good cake base, and this peach poke cake is no exception! But here are a couple other cakes that have seasonal flavors and different textures.
🗒 Substitutions
- Granulated sugar – all brown sugar.
- Softened butter – Coconut oil
- Milk – milk substitute.
🗒 Best served with
- Summer desserts
- Backyard BBQ food
- Sweet peach tea
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store your leftover peach poke cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
🤔 Common Questions
Using a straw! Or if you don’t have a straw on hand, use a butter knife and poke an “x” into each spot.
Peach Poke Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 baking dish
- Sauce pan
- immersion blender
- Spatula
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup softened butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbs vanilla extract
- ¾ cup sourdough discard
Peach Filling
- 4 large, ripe peaches peeled and diced
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- juice of half a lemon
- pinch of salt
Whipped Topping
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt) and set aside.
- In a stand mixer on low speed, beat your butter and sugars together with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the eggs one at a time. Add milk and vanilla extract until everything is fully incorporated. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula if you need to.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl. When everything is almost fully combined, add in the sourdough discard until there are no more streaks and a smooth batter forms.
- Preheat your oven to 375.
- Transfer the batter to a greased 9×13 baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes.
Peach Filling
- While the cake is baking, peel and slice 4 peaches and add them to a saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. When the sugar has dissolved, use an immersion blender to blend it all together to your liking. I like a smooth puree, but you can leave some chunks of peach if you like!
- Let the puree come to a boil and then simmer for 3-4 minutes to let it slightly thicken up.
- Use a straw to poke holes all over of the cake and pour the peach filling directly on top. Use a spatula to smooth the purée over the cake and fill in the holes.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Whipped Topping
- In a stand mixer with the wire whisk, whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream on medium – high heat for 2 – 3 minutes. When peaks start to form, slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla until there are stiff peaks – another 2 – 3 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and top with the whipped cream frosting.
- Serve chilled and with a glass of peach tea! 🙂
Notes
Nutrition
Sign Up for a Free 14-Day Dinner Meal Plan
