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Peach Ricotta Layer Cake with Browned Butter Buttercream. Favorite cake of the summer….hands down. Three layers of fluffy cake, filled with bourbon peach jam, raspberry jam, and the most delicious browned butter buttercream. This cake is light, airy, peachy, sweet, and all the things you want in a summertime cake. Trust me, you just have to make this!
It’s been long but great week, and ending it with this peach filled cake just seems like the right thing to do. Plus, I am not sure what it is about summer, but I have a serious baking bug right now. With all the amazing summer produce, it’s hard not to want to use produce in everything I am making. Anyone else feeling same?
I’m spending the next couple of days in Cleveland with family. I’m excited to check out the local markets here, especially the West Side Market, which has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. My dad used to stop there on his way home from work to pick up fresh produce. It’s just one of the things I miss about living in Cleveland, it’s such a great market.
Assuming the weather is nice, I’ll be spending the first weekend of August outside my kitchen. Most of my family is in Cleveland this weekend, so it will be great to see them all. I know that my brother is really hoping I make Butter Chicken or Gumbo, so I’m sure I will still do a little cooking. The one thing I really want to do though?
Find peaches!! Local fresh peaches are the best, and we have a few birthdays to celebrate, so a remake of this cake might just be in order. Not complaining, as it’s truly one of my favorites right now. What’s not to love about a peach ricotta cake with browned butter buttercream, you know?
For years now I have been wanting to make a peach layer cake, but summers have come and gone and I just never got around to making one. Well, I finally changed all that this summer, and I could not be happier with how this cake turned out.
This cake is everything…it’s so delicious, pretty, fun, and uses up all the summer peaches you probably have on hand. Not sure about you guys, but my eyes can tend to be larger than my stomach. I can get so excited when I see produce I love, that I buy way more than I actually know what to do with. This isn’t the best habit, but it does force me to get creative with my ingredients and think of new ways to use them up.
So it’s bad that I tend to over-buy…but it’s also kind of good too!
Anyway, let’s talk details.
This is a recipe that isn’t under thirty minutes, or less than ten ingredients, but it’s worth any extra time and effort. I promise.
OK, so you’ll start off by making the fluffy ricotta based cake. First of all, ricotta cakes are the way to go. Not only does the ricotta add a nice flavor, but it adds richness, moisture, and keeps the cake incredibly light and fluffy. This isn’t my first time using ricotta in a dessert, but it’s the first cake I’ve incorporated it into. And it for sure will not be the last…game changer.
While the cake is baking, make the peach jam. Honestly, if you have a surplus of peaches, you should just be making jam all the time. Peach jam can be used in both sweet and savory ways, and yes, it is good. The jam is spread over each layer of cake and it’s the main flavor. I used brown sugar to sweeten the jam. I also gave the jam a kick of flavor with a couple splashes of bourbon, because I will forever love the combination of peaches and bourbon. If you’re not someone who likes to cook with alcohol, not to worry, just omit the bourbon and replace it with lemon juice or two teaspoons of vanilla.
For the buttercream, you’ll need to brown some butter. If you’ve never browned butter, oh man, you are in for a real treat. Browning butter on the stove gives it a nutty, rich flavor, and I swear, makes almost any dish better, whether it’s sweet or savory.
In addition to the browned butter, I also used some mascarpone cheese in the buttercream to give it a very “whipped” feel. I didn’t want the buttercream to be heavy and weigh down the cake, so the lightness of the mascapone is perfect paired with this cake.
Also, I want to talk about cutting the cake layers in half. I have chatted with you guys about this before, but do not stress about this step. It’s a lot easier than you may think. You just need to use a long, serrated knife and try to cut in an even, straight line. The long knife will help make this so much easier.
Don’t worry too much if your layers are not perfectly even. One of the great things about frosting/buttercream is that it covers up mistakes. It’s a delicious and beautiful thing.
And in my opinion, you can never have too much frosting!
If you make this peach ricotta layer cake, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this cake, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Peach Ricotta Layer Cake with Browned Butter Buttercream
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 2192 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Bourbon Peach Jam
- 6 cups fresh or frozen peaches
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1/3 cup raspberry jam
Brown Butter Buttercream
- 3 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the canola oil, ricotta, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix until just combined. 3. Pour the batter among the cake pans and bake 30-35 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.4. To make the jam. Add the peaches and brown sugar to a medium size pot set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, once boiling use a potato masher or fork to break down and mash the peaches. Continue to cook for 5-8 minutes or until the jam has reduced and thickened by 1/3. Stir in the bourbon during the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat and let cool. Should thicken as it cools. 5. To make the buttercream. Add 2 sticks butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Stir often. Remove from the heat and transfer the butter to the mixing bowl, let cool until it's room temp. 6. Add the remaining stick of butter, mascapone, and powdered sugar and beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.7. To assemble. Using a large serrated knife, carefully cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1/4 of the buttercream over the cake and layer with about 1/4 cup of peach jam and 2 tablespoons raspberry jam. Repeat with the remaining 3 cake layers. Be careful not to overfill your layers or the cake will be hard to slice. Frost the outside of the cake. Chill 30 minutes. Serve, or store in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
This post was originally published on August 3, 2018
This Peach Ricotta Layer Cake is seriously the best tasting cake I have ever had. The texture of the cake, the peach layer and the browned-butter icing!!! are a delight to the palate. And I am not the only one who thought so……..ask the other 11 people who sat around speechless with plate and fork in hand. A favorite memory of summer 2018
Wow that is so amazing Nancy! I am so glad you and others loved this cake and hope you had a wonderful weekend!
I think brown butter recipes rarely live up to the hype but OMG, this one totally does. So many good flavors happening here. This was a great way to use up the end of season peaches. The jam never thickened but that is probably because the peaches were super ripe. Nothing complicated here, just some extra steps as compared to a traditional layer cake. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Rachel! I am so glad you loved this!
Enjoyed this cake, the browned butter frosting is yummy. ( I’m not even a frosting person!) Many compliments from my friends that I baked it for….I did bake it in 3 pans instead of two and did not halve the layers.
Thank you so much Linda!
This cake was 5 ⭐️ – the icing is crazy good and it’s a great and different way to use seasonal peaches
Thank you so much Cathy!
Oh no – worried I made burnt vs. Browned the butter 🙁 hope still works!
Hi Tracy! How did it turn out for you? I hope you still loved this!
I made this for a friends bridal shower and people were thrilled. Absolutely a hit =) I did tweek things a little bit for myself tho. I only used 3 layers of the cake and I used about 1/8 of the jam that I made for the filling. Too slippery and not stable otherwise. I will totally be making this cake again. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I am so glad you loved this Kelly! Thank you so much!
Just made cake and letting cool. Has sunk in the middles of each. Sadly assuming that I took them out too early! ☹️
Oh No! I am sure it is still fine. How did it taste? Hoping you loved it! Thanks so much! x Tieghan
This cake was amazing. I only had 9″ pans, so I made two layers that I didn’t split. Next time I’ll do 8″ cakes and split them so I get more of the filling. As always with HBH recipes, the recipe is much easier than it looks, so don’t hesitate to give it a try. Also, I didn’t let the butter brown as long as I probably should have, so didn’t get as much of the richer butter flavor but still, I’m still thinking about the cake days after we finished it!
This is so sweet! Thank you so much Lisa, I am so glad you loved this cake!
Why not use cake flour? Is there a tradeoff?
Hi Emily, I don’t love using cake flour within my recipes. I don’t feel it is needed and think this cake is great without! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
Would it be possible to cut portions in half and make a much smaller cake instead ? 🙂
Thanks for letting me know if the proportions will still work!
hi! Sure! You can halve the cake and bake in a 9×13 inch rectangle pyrex pan. That will be great!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
This cake is by far one of the best I’ve tasted in a long time. I cant pin point what ingredient is my favorite, from the browned butter and mascarpone in the buttercream frosting, the ricotta cheese in the cake, to the peach jam filling, it’s all so heavenly. The browned butter is definitely a game changer! This recipe is perfection and it came together seamlessly!
Thank you so much Candace! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
Hi! This recipe looks amazing! I’m keen to try it for my kids’ upcoming birthday party. How many would you say this serves? I’m debating between doing an additional 1/2 recipe (so 6 total layers) for a tall cake or doing a large rectangular or even square cake. Would you adjust anything for the different size pans? Also, any tips for slicing layers if I did a square or rectangle?
Thanks!
Hey Samantha! This cake serves at least 8 people (like 8 adults), but could serve 8-12 (say 12 kids). As for adjustments, that is hard to say without testing the recipe in different size cake pans, just be checking for doneness as the cakes are baking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
Made it and it was delicious! Recipe was easy to follow, cakes sliced perfectly, frosting was fluffy and yummy. Shared with my brother and nephew, received rave reviews from both of them and my husband! I had extra peach preserves left over, we had refrigerated the cake on the second day so to ward off any refrigerator dryness we heated the leftover preserves and put them on top of the slices, sooo good. I did add some spices to my preserves when making them but that was the only change I made to the recipe.
I am so glad you and your family loved this Kim! Thank you so much!
I made this, and oh my gosh! It is amazing. I’m also not the worlds most intense chef, but I felt like the recipe was quite attainable. I had some peach jam leftover, which was really great. I should have put more peach in the layers. My cake certainly did not look as fancy, but the taste was all that really mattered to me. And the taste was outta this world! Thank you for the recipe.
Yum!! I am so glad you liked this Nicole, and I am sure it looked amazing! Thank you so much!
I made this for my mother-in-law’s 80rh birthday. It was good, difficult to frost, and IMO a little bit too sweet, but pretty much a hit. The browned butter frosting was excellent. Thanks for sharing your recepie.
Thank you so much Larissa! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!