Scrummy, moist peach cupcakes with a spiced peach filling, topped with a creamy and delicious Cinnamon frosting – the perfect cupcake for those who don’t enjoy the major sweetness you usually get in cupcake frosting! You can used canned peaches, so you can enjoy these amazing cupcakes all year round!
I don’t think cupcakes are as trendy as they once were. Not so long ago you’d blink and a dozen new cupcake businesses had popped up, cupcakes were the in thing! Personally, I love a good trend, especially when it’s something as awesome as cupcakes! The trend may have died down now, but my love for cupcakes definitely hasn’t. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s basically an excuse to eat an entire cake and not have your family look at you like you’re dishonouring their name. And they’re so versatile too, with limitless designs and flavour combinations, you’re spoilt for choice! I think cupcakes get a bit of a bad rep to be honest, but I think people who look down on cupcakes just don’t know how to appreciate joy π
Have you tried my Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes yet?
I’ve made A LOT of cupcakes in my time, and I’ve shared a handful of them with you guys, including Parsnip Cupcakes with Raspberry Swirl Frosting, Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes and my most popular cupcake so far, Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes. I’ve made elaborate flavour combinations and designs, I baked almost soley cupcakes before I started blogging so I’ve done a lot! I think these Peach Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting might be one of my favourites though, and they’re one of the cupcake recipes I’ve had the hardest time perfecting. They sound simple enough, I know, but peach is a very subtle flavour and it gets easily lost in cake, especially when you need that cupcake to be, well, a cupcake! I struggled with getting enough peach flavour in the cake without turning them into little, dense muffins – it was not easy! After a few failed attempts I ended up with some deliciously moist cupcakes with a surprise peach filling. The cake itself has peach puree in it so you’ve got that subtle peach flavour throughout, then the peach filling gives you that extra boost of peachy goodness without weighing down the cake – and I do love to fill my cupcakes, so this was a win win situation!
I say surprise peach filling because when my stepdad tried these cupcakes, he was very surprised by it! I’m not sure why, since it’s very rare for me NOT to fill a cupcake – I just love the extra flavour boost it gives them, while mixing up the textures a bit too! My stepdad doesn’t sample much of my baking to be fair, he’s got very traditional tastes and tends to steer clear of my bakes (cinnamon is exotic in his eyes!), so the fact that he polished off two of these cupcakes is a testament to how good they are!
The cake by itself is so tasty and definitely worth the effort (not that there’s much involved), but it’s the frosting that makes it! It’s dreamily creamy, with just the right amount of cinnamon so it doesn’t over power the flavour of the cake – there’s also not a lot of sweetness in it, which I like a lot. And, of course, the cream and the cinnamon compliments the peaches perfectly! With the natural sweetness from the peaches, the caramel-y goodness of the brown sugar and the very minimal amount of sugar in the frosting – this cupcake is perfect for those who usually steer clear of cupcakes because of how sickly sweet they usually are. Don’t get me wrong, I obviously have a massive sweet tooth and love a good sinfully sweet cupcake, but toning down the sweetness and letting flavours and spices shine is a welcome change – even those big sweet tooths will appreciate this change!
- 500g diced peaches
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp browned butter
- 115g unsalted butter
- 280g plain flour (all purpose)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 75g brown sugar
- 75g caster sugar (fine white sugar)
- 120ml peach puree
- 1 large egg
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp white wine/cider vinegar
- 480ml double cream (or heavy cream)
- 125g Icing sugar
- 1/4-3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- Chop the peaches into small pieces and put in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients - brown sugar, lime juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown butter (see below to make) - and stir to combine. Leave to rest.
- Put the butter in a small saucepan and heat on medium until melted. Keep cooking it, swirling gently occasionally, until it browns - this is when there are dark brown flecks in it (that's the butter solids browning) and it has a strong, nutty aroma. If you're using a dark pan and can't see the flecks clearly, drop a bit of the butter on a piece of white kitchen towel and you'll see the flecks. This will take anywhere from 2-5 mins. Once ready, pour into a heat proof bowl to cool completely- remove one tbsp to add to the peach puree mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and line a muffin tin with papers.
- Remove 250g of the peach puree mixture to another bowl and set aside. Add the rest to a blender or food processor and blend smooth. Measure out 120ml (1/2 cup) and set aside. Any leftover blended puree can be added to the bowl of the 250g you reserved, stir it in and set aside - this is your cupcake filling.
- Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a large bowl and lightly whisk together to combine and aerate.
- In another bowl add the blended peach puree, cooled brown butter, sugars, egg, oil and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Add 2 tbsp of the unblended peach puree mix and stir to combine.
- Pour the wet mix into the dry, and gently fold until just combined. Add the vinegar and stir to combine.
- Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until springy to touch. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, use a sharp knife to cut a circle out of the centre, going 2/3 of the way deep. Fill the hollowed hole with peach filling and level off. If you like, you can cut the top off the cake you removed and replace it on top like a lid. Repeat with all cupcakes.
- To make the frosting, add all the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand held electric beater) and whisk on low for about 30 seconds to combine. Start off with just 1/4 tsp cinnamon and once mixed, taste to see if you want more. I added 3/4 tsp cinnamon in the end, adjust to your tastes.
- Turn the mixure up to high and whisk until soft peaks form - soft peaks are when you remove whisk from the cream is starting to hold form. Most importantly, it should be light and fluffy.
- Spoon into a piping bag (fitted with the nozzle of your choice if using, i just snipped off the end) and pipe a generous amount on your cupcake. This frosting makes more than enough for 12 cupcakes, so you don't need to be conservative with it!
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. Best eaten the day of making, but will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge - allow cupcakes to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before eating.
- You can use fresh or canned peaches (in juice or water), peel peaches first if using fresh.
These cupcakes worked a little too well I think, I’m basically torturing myself! I’m trying to lose weight at the moment, so unfortunately I can’t devour all of my baked goods! Baking and blogging is a great excuse to indulge when you’re on a diet though, because obviously I have to sample everything before I can share the recipe – such a shame π I was very proud of myself for stopping at half a cupcake though, even if I was crying inside! These cupcakes are so amazing, it really is hard to limit yourself!
My official taste tester, aka my mother, was a big fan of these cupcakes – which is good because she’s the one who needs to eat them all! She did comment that they were very “plain looking” by my usual standards, and I guess she might be right – I didn’t do any fancy piping or even add a garnish, but I just felt the simple look really worked for this cupcake, and the flavour really does speak for itself! Besides, I didn’t wanna distract from the beautiful flecks of cinnamon you can see in the frosting – as a cinnamon enthusiast, that’s a heavenly sight for me! What do you think? Will you add a peach slice garnish when you make them or keep them simple like me?
I hope you like this recipe and give it a go, it looks like a lot of steps but they’re all simple and totally worth the effort – I’m a bit in love with these cupcakes! If you do try them out and I’d love to hear what you think, either comment below or tag me in any photos you take of your bakes with @GiraffesCanBake on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
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Sharing with…
Foodie FriDIY, Friday Favourites, Fiesta Friday with Kaila and Jenny, Saucy Saturdays, Throwback Thursday
These cupcakes look so scrumptious! Perfect for autumn!
Thank you, Marsha! x
How in the heck did you stop at 1/2 a cupcake? You are tough my friend! I just love that you filled these for that flavor boost, and cinnamon in the frosting is a great combination.
I don’t know Julie, I never knew I had so much will power!
Thank you!
These look and sound absolutely incredible. I love peaches- I have them sitting in my fridge at all times. I will be saving this recipe for further use haha!
http://www.amandabootes.co.uk
Thank you!
These cupcakes look amazing! I’m glad to know that canned peaches will work, because it seems like we’ve seen the end of good fresh ones where I live. The cinnamon + peach combination sounds heavenly!
Thank you! Yes, I used canned peaches because there’s no good fresh ones here any more, they work great!
These cupcakes look like a little piece of heaven! I love the combination of peach and cinnamon. Your photos make me want to reach out and pull a cupcake right off the screen! π Happy Fiesta Friday!
Thank you Jenny!! Happy FF!
We are thinking the same way this week – peaches!!! Your cupcakes sound delicious inside and out π
Great minds think alike judi π Thanks!
Oooooooh these cupcakes look divine!!! Especially that pillow-y fluffy frosting π
π Thank you Amanda!
Yummy!!:)
Thank you!
Your cupcakes look so delicious, Michelle! I could go for one right now…although I am not sure I’d be able to stop at just one!
π Thank you Michelle! They’re definitely hard to resist!
Michelle, these are amazing! I love the peach on the inside. And, when you cut through the cupcake, it all looked fantastic from the frosting to filling. Thank you so much for bringing these to FF. π
Thank you so much Kaila!
The peach and cardamom combination is awesome ! Love every single thing about this cupcake. the filling, the frosting and the cake itself… i just hope i could get to eat that beauty too π
Thanks for sharing on FF ! Happy weekend π
Thank you Prachi!! π
I love that you added cardamom and that fluffy frosting is so perfect, such a nice treat!
I take it you mean cinnamon? hehe! Now I’m wondering what peach and cardamom would taste like though hehe
Thank you Katalina!
Michelle these are just deliciously beautiful!! π
Thank you Amy!
What an awesome flavor combination! I would have never thought of this, but they look absolutely delicious and beautiful! Found you thought the foodie friday link up…so glad I did!
Thank you so much! Peach and cinnamon are a really yummy combination, definitely worth trying! Thanks for stopping by π
What is 250g peach puree US measurement? What IS peach puree?
Hi Pam – I’m afraid I don’t have a cup measurement for the peach puree as we work mostly in weighed measurements here in the UK.
However, if you measure out 120ml of the peach mixture (which is the same as 1/2 a liquid cup) and puree it for the cupcakes, what you’re left with is the 250g you need for filling the cupcakes (the 250g left does not need to be an accurate measurement as you’re using it to fill, it won’t be baked).
The peach puree recipe is included in the recipe – the ingredients are listed first and how to make it is in the body of the recipe (first part of the recipe, titled “for the peach puree”). In a nutshell though, it is a mixture of peaches, sugar, spices and brown butter cooked together and pureed.
Hope that helps!