Summer is peach season here in South Carolina and these peach cupcakes are one of my favorites! These brown butter cupcakes are filled with spiced peaches and topped with stabilized whipped cream! It's like a classic peaches and cream milkshake, but in cupcake form!
You might also like these strawberries and cream cupcakes or this fresh peach galette!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these brown butter peaches and cream cupcakes!
Brown butter, brown sugar, spiced peaches, and homemade whipped cream are a match made in heaven!!
Peaches - I always use fresh peaches if I can find them, but frozen peaches will also work well in the filling.
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter! But if you're trying to keep things simple, you can just use regular unsalted butter in the cupcakes.
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Spices - Adding warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg enhances the flavor of the brown butter and peaches!
Whipped Cream - It's not peaches and cream without homemade whipped cream! To make the whipped cream more stable, I like to add powdered gelatin to it but that's optional.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Peach Filled Cupcakes
Thinly slice the peaches ( and peel if desired) and add to a small pot. Add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cornstarch.
Cook for 10-15 minutes until the peaches soften and the sauce thickens.
Remove from the heat and let cool completely to room temperature.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, sugar, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with about 2 teaspoons of spiced peaches.
Transfer the stabilized whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe swirls on each cupcake.
Top the peaches and cream cupcakes with sliced peaches and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream
You can use just regular whipped cream if you don't have gelatin lying around, but for piping I always prefer to stabilize the whipped cream so that it stays nice and pretty (aka doesn't start melting down the side of your peach cupcakes after 12 hours).
You can also check out this blog post for all of my other tips for making good whipped cream!
- Add the water to a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin on top. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
- Transfer the gelatin mixture to the microwave and microwave for 5-10 seconds, until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Stir the mixture, then set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. Whip the mixture until it starts to thicken and soft peaks form, then turn the mixer to low speed. Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture until well combined. Increase the mixer to medium speed and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with spiced peaches.
For these big beautiful frosting swirls on these peaches and cream cupcakes, I use the 1M tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
Garnish with fresh peach slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon!
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Wait to top with fresh peaches until right before serving.
Nope! You can absolutely substitute regular unsalted butter in the cupcakes. I just love the flavor that brown butter adds!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Peaches & Cream Cupcakes
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted brown butter, melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup milk
Spiced Peaches
- 2 cups peaches, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch kosher salt
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons flavorless powdered gelatin
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
Spiced Peaches
- Thinly slice the peaches ( and peel if desired) and add to a small pot. Add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cornstarch.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes until the peaches soften and the sauce thickens.
- Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, sugar, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with about 2 teaspoons of spiced peaches.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Add the water to a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin on top. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
- Transfer the gelatin mixture to the microwave and microwave for 5-10 seconds, until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Stir the mixture, then set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Whip the mixture until it starts to thicken and soft peaks form, then turn the mixer to low speed.
- Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture and mix on low until well combined. Increase the mixer to medium speed and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Note: if the gelatin mixture thickens up too much before you add it to the whipped cream, just pop it back in the microwave for 3-5 seconds. It should be a pour-able consistency.
- Transfer the stabilized whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe swirls on each cupcake.
- Top with sliced peaches and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Bernice says
Tasty! Pretty! I love the idea of painting stripes of food coloring in the pastry bag to get the peachy look on the frosting topper. The cream filling is sooo delicious I could drink it. I used the peach schnapps ! Added a little brandy, too. Lol. I have a picture of the cupcakes I made if you want me to post it. They turned out perfectly. Lmk. Thx for the recipe. I appreciate you!
Melanie Kratz says
The cupcakes taste good, but I cannot pipe the icing. I don’t know if I stabilized it incorrectly or something, but anytime I try to pipe it, it melts into itself. Is there anything I can try to fix this in the future?
Kyleigh Sage says
That sounds like it's not whipped to fully stiff peaks. If it's under whipped, it won't be able to hold its shape. When you lift up the beaters in the bowl the whipped cream should completely hold its shape and not collapse at all. If there's any movement, you need to whip a little longer.
Bernice says
Try adding instant vanilla pudding mix and a little more peach flavor
Bernice says
Try adding instant vanilla pudding mix and a little more peach schnapps. That works for me. Pudding mix is a great stabilizer. I use it in several frosting recipes with whipped cream bases.
Lauren says
Hello! This recipe was amazing, really really good job. I was a little bit nervous with the icing because I’ve never made a whipped icing before. But it was perfect, and the instructions were super helpful. The only comment I got on these cupcakes, was that they just wanted it to be a little bit more peachy. So maybe next time I’ll make a peach drizzle or something like that!
Bernice says
I used a bit more peach schnapps to the frosting and it was peachy perfect! 🤩
Natalie K. says
So tasty and perfect for summer!
Jessica Formicola says
I love peaches this time of year, and these cupcakes look incredible! I will definitely be making them soon!
Audrey says
My kids loved these!