How to make Healthy Caramelised Peach Cake

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This Healthy Caramelised Peach Cake is a rich sweet treat – but you will be surprised how budget-friendly it is to make! There are no odd or expensive ingredients in this cake. And with the added benefits of Sourdough and fermentation, it is good for you, too!

Is Cake a Junk Food?

Yes, traditional cake is a junk food. Laden with processed sugar, flour, and fats, cake has one of the worst combinations of ingredients for your health.

The typical cake ingredients are highly processed and full of empty calories. Eating traditional cake will not do your body any good. In fact, it would do your body harm if you eat it regularly.

If you love eating cake, but are worried about the damage it could do to your body, then you have come to the right place! At Simply Home and Health, I have a wide range of healthy cakes that will satisfy your dessert tooth.

Because who doesn’t love plunging a fork into a tall, fluffy cake loaded with creamy frosting?

My cakes are vegan, and refined sugar free. Where they contain refined flour, they are made with sourdough discard and fermented.

You can eat any recipe here without doing damage to your body! I should know – we eat cake every night of the week. I actually get anxious if there is not some form of cake to look forward to in the evening! Hubby and I love to pour ourselves a cup of tea, and settle down on the couch with a thick wedge of cake.

Bliss!

Do I need to Ferment a Sourdough Discard Cake?

The point of fermenting the cake batter is not to prove the cake, as in breadmaking, but rather to break down the anti-nutrients in the flour. So, there is no need to worry about over-proving the cake batter (although I wouldn’t leave it for longer than 12 hours).

All the rising happens in the oven during the baking process, so there is no need to prove at all.

I do like to ferment my cake batters if using processed white flour because it gives a superior crumb, and it is easier on my digestion. But if you need cake, and need it now, you can skip this step without any real detriment.

Making Caramelised Peach Cake

There are 3 main pressure points in this healthy Peach Cake: caramelising the peaches, fermenting the flour, and getting the bake right.

This Peach Cake can be made all in one day if you are pressed for time and are not bothered about fermenting the white flour. If you are using oat flour (I did with great success), there is no need to ferment at all.

If you do decide to ferment the cake batter (in my opinion it gives a better texture in addition to added nutrients), you can start the batter the night before you intend to bake. I quite like doing it this way, because I can get all the messy stuff done while the kids are in bed.

Or, you could mix it early in the morning, to bake in the late afternoon. Remember, it takes a minimum of 7 hours to break down the phytates in the flour.

Here’s how I like to do it:

The Night Before:

1. Make the pre-ferment: Mix the flour, oil, starter, and water in a bowl. Cover, and leave to prove overnight (or a minimum of 7 hours).
2. Meanwhile, empty the Peach tin, juice and all, into a pot. It’s easier to caramelise the peaches once the pre-ferment mixture is already mixed. The peaches take a while to caramelise and can be added to the pre-ferment mixture at any point.
3. Simmer over a medium heat until the juice has reduced and thickened. It should darken and caramelise. Be careful at this point not to burn the peach mixture.
4. Add the Caramelised Peaches to the pre-ferment mixture once cooled.

In the Morning:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Line a 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.
2. To the pre-ferment mixture, add the remaining ingredients. Be sure not to over-mix, because this disrupts the carbonation process (aka: ruins the fluffy texture).
3. Pour into the prepared cake tin, and place in the centre rack of the oven.
4. Bake for 75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the healthy peach cake comes out clean.

For the Icing:

1. To make the “Cream Cheese” frosting, combine 1x 495g tin coconut cream with 250g of coconut butter. You can make coconut butter yourself very cheaply by blending desiccated coconut in a high-spend blender (I use the coffee grinder attachment on my food processor).
2. Sweeten with Truvia to taste.
3. You can flavour this icing simply with a hint of Vanilla or Almond Essence, and with a dash of lemon juice to liken it to a traditional Cream Cheese frosting.

Do I need to Caramelise the Peaches?

Reducing the peaches deepens the peach flavour and sweetness. It should be the consistency of jam. Do not skip this step and do not strain the syrup. The quantities in the cake allow for the extra moisture and sweetness in the syrup.

Can I add Spices to Caramelised Peach Cake?

Yes, you could definitely add spice to this cake. Cinnamon, cardamom or ginger would be delicious, and would take this cake to a whole new level. Adding brown sugar to the frosting would really compliment these flavours.

Warning: Do not lick the bowl!

The raw batter does not taste very nice, simply because it is sour from the sourdough discard and bitter from the baking soda. However, there is not a hint of this in the cooked cake.

How long to bake this Caramelised Peach Cake?

Baking times will vary depending from oven to oven. Keep an eye on the cake. It needs at least 1 hour, so check in every 5-10 minutes after that.

Is Caramelised Peach Cake Allergy Friendly?

This cake is suitable for vegans and for those who have an intolerance to nuts, dairy and eggs. It is even safe for diabetics to eat, due to the low sugar content. Don’t be put off, though – EVERYONE will enjoy this cake!