These moist, easy-to-make vanilla peach cupcakes are made with sweet, fresh peaches, and a topping of tangy crème fraîche and salted caramel sauce.
The Best Peach Cupcakes Recipe
These tender cupcakes use the same batter recipe as my caramel peach upside-down cake. But for these, I’ve added a dollop of crème fraîche to the top of the cupcakes and then drizzled them with salted caramel sauce.
The result is a light, fresh cupcake that’s bursting with peachy, caramel goodness — and a hint of nutmeg. And thanks to the crème fraîche, they’re not too sweet.
These cupcakes are a great dessert option for a hot summer night. And as promised, they’re super simple to make. The recipe only has eight ingredients, and the bake time is just 15 minutes!
Tips for Making Vanilla Peach Cupcakes
Just a few things to keep in mind while making these:
- THE PEACHES: Since the peaches are the main attraction in this dessert, I use the freshest, sweetest peaches I can find. I would avoid using frozen peaches in this recipe.
- CRÈME FRAÎCHE: Don’t have crème fraîche? You could also use Greek yogurt or sour cream. Or you could also try vanilla ice cream.
- TOPPINGS: Make sure to cool the cupcakes to room temperature before adding the toppings. If you add them while the cupcakes are still warm, they’ll absorb the crème fraîche and the drizzle.
- SERVING & STORAGE: You can make the cupcakes ahead of time and then top them just before serving. Because the toppings are wet, it’s best to serve the topped cupcakes immediately.
- CARAMEL SAUCE: Cover any leftover caramel sauce tightly and store it for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, just reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.
- BAKING TOOLS: Stand Mixer | Cupcake Pan | Cupcake Liners
Looking for more easy, warm-weather dessert recipes? Try these!
Easy Atlantic Beach Lemon Pie
Caramel Peach Upside-Down Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
The Best Vanilla Peach Cake with Marscapone Frosting
Boozy Frozen Tom Collins Popsicles
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Vanilla Peach Cupcakes with Caramel Drizzle
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Sweet summer peaches are the main attraction in these moist, easy-to-make vanilla and peach cupcakes topped with crème fraîche, fresh peaches, and caramel sauce.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 pound butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 3 ripe peaches, diced (you don’t need to peel them)
- Crème fraîche, for topping
For the Salted Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature and cut up into 6 pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Stir in the flour mixture.
- Gently fold in 3/4 of the peaches (reserving 1/4 for the topping)
- Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan.
- Bake until the cupcakes are set and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to cool to room temperature before topping with the crème fraîche, remaining fresh peaches, and caramel sauce.
For the Caramel Sauce:
- Heat the granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts into a thick amber-colored liquid. Be careful not to burn the mixture.
- Once sugar is fully melted, add the butter. Heads up: the caramel will rapidly bubble when the butter is added. Just keep stirring until the butter is completely melted, about 2 minutes. (If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumped up, remove from heat and whisk to combine it again).
- Next, slowly drizzle the heavy cream while continuing to stir. Again, the mixture will rapidly bubble when the cream is added. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the mixture from heat and stir in the salt. Allow to slightly cool down before using the sauce on the cupcakes. The caramel will thicken as it cools. If it’s too thick, you can reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.