Easy Peach Kuchen Recipe
Easy Peach Kuchen Recipe is made with fresh or canned peaches; the perfect summer breakfast or dessert served warm with whipped cream.
Enjoy Peach Kuchen Bars made with simple flavors of peaches and a moist cake with a slight hint of cinnamon. It’s the perfect tea, breakfast cake, or evening dessert with a dab of fresh whipped cream! If you love kuchen, then this Best Blueberry Kuchen Recipe is another “must-try.”
If you’re asking “What can I make with peaches?” these peach kuchen bars can be made with fresh peaches, canned or frozen peaches. You only have frozen peaches? We love this Frozen Peach Crisp (made in a cake pan).
Why we love this recipe
- It’s an easy dessert that everyone loves! Serve it plain, as a coffee cake, or with a dab of whipped cream or ice cream.
- Make it anytime of the year – you can use fresh, canned, or frozen peaches.
- This recipe does not use a cake mix. Instead it’s made with a very plain pastry dough made from scratch (and very easy!)
What is kuchen?
I come from a German family, and my mom and Grandma made kuchen (which is basically a German cake). Traditionally it’s a variety of coffee cakes made from sweet yeast dough. In English, it sounds like coo-ken. Our friend Hilda made her recipe with prunes, and we called her recipe “Hilda’s Kuchen.” So many great family memories!
Ingredients for Peach Kuchen:
- Flour + sugar
- Baking powder
- Egg
- Milk + butter
- Vanilla + almond extract
- Peaches: fresh, canned, or frozen
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Whipped cream
How do you make Peach Kuchen?
- In a mixing bowl, add the melted butter, egg, milk, sugar, and vanilla and almond extracts. Mix well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir.
- Spoon the cake batter onto a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. The dough will be thin and thick. Spread smoothly to the edges.
- Place the sliced peaches evenly on the dough with the cut side down.
- Spoon some of the juice on the peaches.
Make the streusel topping:
- Mix flour, sugar, and some of the butter.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake.
Bake! You’ll know its done when it’s bubbly and slightly browned along the sides. Don’t over bake!
How to serve peach kuchen bars
When the cake is slightly cooled, pour a drizzle (powdered sugar mixed with a tiny bit of milk) over the cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts (optional).
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
How to can peaches?
For this cake I opened a jar of newly canned peaches, which, by the way, if you’re new to canning, head over to Harry & David’s blog – Easy Canned Peaches for a step-by-step post on how to can peaches! It’s easy! I’ll walk you through the process and show you the tools, ingredients, and “how to” process, with the end result: Beautiful jars filled with locally grown halved peaches!
You have a choice with canned peaches to add a lot of sugar, little sugar, or no sugar. I’ve tried the “no sugar” in the past, and they don’t seem as flavorful. This time I used “little sugar” and they turned out great. They had a bit of tartness to them in the cake, which I thought made it even better. I want to try this cake with canned pears, and maybe a brown sugar topping.
Kuchen on a Sunday afternoon
This peach cake was a childhood favorite on a Sunday afternoon, as a kid growing up. Especially in the winter months, with little fresh fruit available, my mom would make this moist Peach Kuchen Recipe with her own canned peaches. That is my favorite way to make this recipe.
Every bite was comfort. How could it not be, with white flour and sugar? LOL.
Tips and substitutions:
- The original recipe calls for 2 large cans of purple plums, for which I substituted the peaches. (Thank you, Hilda!)
- Best way to enjoy this cake is to eat it plain, but you may choose to fancy it up for a dessert with ice cream or whipped cream.
- You can also use different fruits (or mix in with peaches, for example peach and blueberry).
- Optional to sprinnkle with cinnamon or add toasted nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts) to the topping.
- The almond extract really makes this recipe so good!
Enjoy!
More peach recipes to try:
Making Peach Upside Down Cake for Dinner Guests
Peaches and Cream Bread Pudding
Get the Recipe:
Easy Peach Kuchen Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk, you can use evaporated
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 quart canned peaches, sliced (drained – keep the juice)
- ⅔ cup flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
- ½ tsp cinnamon, optional, sprinkle on top
- Whipped cream, optional
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the melted butter, egg, milk, sugar, and vanilla and almond extracts. Mix well. Then add the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir.
- Spoon the cake batter onto a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. The dough will be thin and thick. Spread smoothly to the edges.
- Place the sliced peaches evenly on the dough with the cut side down.
- Spoon some of the juice on the peaches.
Make the streusel topping:
- Mix ⅔ cup of flour, sugar, and 6 Tbsp. of butter.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake.
- Optional to sprinnkle with cinnamon or add toasted nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts) to the topping.
- Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. You’ll know its done when it’s bubbly and slightly browned along the sides. Don’t over bake!
- When the cake is slightly cooled, pour a drizzle (powdered sugar mixed with a tiny bit of milk) over the cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts (optional).
- Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Being 100% German I was skeptical at first, but it turned out awesome! Used canned peaches, pears and also canned sweet cherries for some variations. My favorite recipe lately and so easy to make. I also added sliced roasted almonds to the streusel mix. I added 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the batter, because it tasted like it needed some.
Very easy to double for a full sheet.
This reminds me of my mother in laws kuchen! She’s been gone a number of years now and no one could find her recipe for it. She was notorious for NEVER sharing recipes…she always said if she was invited to dinner somewhere she didn’t want to eat something she could easily make herself. I’ve tried a number of recipes over the years and this is the closest to hers I can find! I had a basket of peaches that were getting over ripe faster than we could eat them so that’s what I used for this. It was so simple and no mixer required – just used a whisk and a spatula. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be making this a fair bit with all kinds of fruit!
This sounds very good. Easier recipe than my grammas, her recipe is actually a sweet yeast dough. Takes longer.. Have to try this version!
Looking forward to trying this! Wondering how it would work with a canned pie filling (peach, apple, cherry) ? Too much liquid you think?
And thanks for sharing 😋
I’ve never tired it with canned fruit (pie filling). Let me know if you try it, Karen!
Smells great. Used ripe fresh farm peaches and fresh blueberries! So excited to try after it cools a little while. Thank you for the recipe.
I used frozen peaches and it came out perfectly!! Sooooo good and very easy!!
Frozen peaches are delicious! Thanks for sharing! :)
Absolutely delicious! Lost my jelly role pan so I used9 9 x 13 glass pan and cooked 10 min more. Came out amazing.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
GOing to make this for sure!!! sounds amazing.
Also, could I use a 9X13 inch pan? Thanks again!!!
This recipe is thinner, thus using a larger pan. You’ll have to cook it longer if you use a 9×13, and it won’t be quite the same!
If I were using canned peaches, how much juice would I use? This looks fabulous!!!
If you use canned peaches, Anita, you’ll need to drain them first :)
Thank you for this recipe, I made this with fresh raspberries and added a little powder sugar glase it turned out so good that my husband went back for another peace. This is a must keep recipe, I want to try it with blue berries.
So glad you loved it, Patty! :)
How big a jelly roll pan? I have several sizes
Thank you for helping me. I used your recipe only except peaches I used rhubarb and strawberries. I cut them up and drizzled a little sugar and lemon juice over them yesterday. Then tonight I used this instead of the peaches and to add moisture I sprinkled heavy whipping cream over it.
I did have to cook it longer. This is due to one of 2 problems. 1) I use stone and it does not take moisture out of food the way metal pans will – it will not burn. 2) I am at 3200 ft.
I could not agree with you more about canning outside, makes the process so much more enjoyable. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome, and enjoy!
This sounds really good but please update your directions to include the vanilla and almond extract. I followed the directions and realized I didnt add those since it did not show in the directions. I added it to the pan and tried to swirl it around the batter but I have a feeling I will throwing away the batter and starting over. Nothing worse than getting to the end of the making and realizing some ingredients were not added.
Fixed! You’ll be fine with swirling it in the batter, Rhonda. Enjoy!
Love this! I grew up in a very German town, so kuchen always reminds me of home.
Could I use fresh, frozen or peaches from a can and get the same result?
For sure fresh, not sure about the frozen (because of the liquid in them), but you could try, Jen!
I need to make this now!