Summer dessert doesn’t get much easier than this amazingly delicious peach shortcake, made using a butter recipe yellow cake mix. It’s light, airy, and insanely moist. And, it’s topped with a sweet homemade peach sauce that can be made in minutes from fresh summer peaches. By itself, this cake is absolutely drool-worthy, but don’t be afraid to try it with whipped cream or ice cream if you’re feeling a little bit over-the-top.
There are a few things in life that you really shouldn’t mess with. Murder cats who lay seductively in the afternoon sunshine with their bellies exposed, daring you to go ahead and pet them. It’s alright. What’s the worst that could happen? Go ahead. I dare you. Giant, hairy, freakishly fast spiders. Sure. Go ahead and try to save them by returning them to their outside wilderness because you don’t want to simply squish them with the bottom of your shoe like a sane person. Nine times out of ten, those suckers are going to leap right on you in the process. Snakes. That’s it. Just snakes. Never. Nope. No way. No how. Walk away. Better yet, run away screaming and pray that they don’t take after you.
And then, there are the things in life that you can mess with and probably should. High up on that list are cake mixes. By themselves, they are budget-friendly time savers. With a few substitutions and improvements, they can transform into an out-of-this-world dessert experience. This peach shortcake is a perfect example. It’s light, airy, moist, and smothered in summer peach deliciousness. It will almost make you forget those days when you were mauled by a ferocious kitty or attacked by a large terrifying spider for absolutely no reason. Not to mention those days when you ran faster than you ever thought humanly possible after having a run-in with a snake. After days like those, you definitely deserve this shortcake. Heck, you earned it.
Ingredients:
Shortcake:
- 1/2 Teaspoon Unsalted Butter, Cold
- 1 Cup of Sour Cream
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 (15.25-oz.) Box Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix
Peach Sauce:
- 4 Cups of Peeled & Chopped Peaches (8 Peaches)
- 3/4 Cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 Tablespoon + 2 Teaspoons of Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Directions:
Shortcake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish or metal cake pan with cold unsalted butter; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the sour cream, eggs, heavy whipping cream, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon together for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add the cake mix; mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared glass baking dish or metal cake pan. Spread the batter out evenly with a silicone spatula.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife or a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before topping it with the peach sauce.
Peach Sauce:
- In a stainless steel or non-reactive pot bring all of the ingredients to a rolling boil, stirring often.
- When the sauce comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium and continue to cook the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Allow the sauce to cool completely before evenly spreading it on top of the cooled shortcake.
Suggestions:
- Serve this shortcake with whipped cream.
- For shiny metal or glass pans, bake at 350 degrees. For nonstick pans, bake at 325 degrees. I used a glass 9 x 13 baking dish to bake this shortcake.
- I suggest checking on the cake after it has been baking for 25 minutes to test for doneness. Every oven bakes differently.
- This Brown Sugar Balsamic Summer Peach Sauce was the inspiration for this shortcake. For more tips and suggestions, make sure to check out the original peach sauce recipe.
- I made this peach shortcake twice. Once while at home and once while on vacation. The first time, I used a Betty Crocker Super Moist Favorites Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix. The second time, I used a Pillsbury Golden Butter Recipe Flavored Premium Cake Mix. I much preferred the Betty Crocker cake mix. The Pillsbury version was denser and not nearly as airy and fluffy.
Improvements:
- Bake cupcakes instead of a sheet cake. You will need to bake them for approximately 14 to 19 minutes, or until a knife or a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Want to make this shortcake but don’t have fresh peaches available? Make the sauce using frozen peaches.
- In lieu of whipped cream, serve this shortcake with ice cream. This Buttermilk Double Vanilla Ice Cream would be perfect with this shortcake.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Teaspoon Unsalted Butter, Cold
- 1 Cup of Sour Cream
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 (15.25-oz.) Box Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix
- 4 Cups of Peeled & Chopped Peaches (8 Peaches)
- 3/4 Cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 Tablespoon + 2 Teaspoons of Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish or metal cake pan with cold unsalted butter; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the sour cream, eggs, heavy whipping cream, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon together for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add the cake mix; mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared glass baking dish or metal cake pan. Spread the batter out evenly with a silicone spatula.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife or a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before topping it with the peach sauce.
- In a stainless steel or non-reactive pot bring all of the ingredients to a rolling boil, stirring often.
- When the sauce comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium and continue to cook the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Allow the sauce to cool completely before evenly spreading it on top of the cooled shortcake.
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