Peach Melba Layer Cake Supreme
Submitted by oOprincessOo
Peach melba layer cake sweetened with apple juice concentrate instead of sugar, topped with fresh peaches, raspberries, and fruit spread. Refined-sugar-free homage to the Escoffier classic.
YIELD
36 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
70 minPeach Melba was Escoffier’s invention for opera star Nellie Melba in 1892: poached peaches, raspberry sauce, vanilla ice cream. This layer cake turns the idea into something you can serve on a plate at a birthday party, with apple juice concentrate standing in for granulated sugar.
The apple juice concentrate does real work here. It sweetens without granulated sugar, adds natural fruit flavor, and the acidity tenderizes the crumb. Six egg yolks (no whites) give the cake a rich, golden-yellow color and a pound-cake-adjacent density. Beat the butter until it’s visibly light and fluffy before anything else goes in. Aeration at this stage is what keeps the egg-yolk-heavy batter from baking up dense.
The topping stays raw for freshness. Sliced peaches, whole raspberries, peach pourable fruit, and raspberry fruit spread all stir together and spoon over the assembled cake, letting juices run down the sides for that rustic bakery look.
Kitchen Tips
- Use ripe but firm peaches. Overripe peaches turn to mush when mixed with the fruit spread.
- Apple juice concentrate replaces sugar but doesn’t add sweetness equivalent to sugar by volume. Taste the batter and add a tablespoon of honey if you want it sweeter.
- Cool cakes completely before topping. Warm cake melts the fruit spread into a slick.
- Serve the same day the topping goes on. Fruit topping weeps after sitting overnight.
Variations
- Swap raspberries for blackberries or a mix of summer berries.
- Add a layer of fresh whipped cream between the cake layers for a richer dessert.
- Serve a slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the full Escoffier treatment.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Grease and flour two 8 inch round cake pans.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Beat softened butter at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Blend in egg yolks and vanilla.
Alternately add dry ingredients and apple juice concentrate, beating well after each addition; spread evenly into prepared pans.
Bake 20 minutes, until golden brown and wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pans on wire racks.
Remove from pans; cool completely.
Drain peaches.
Combine peaches, raspberries, and pourable fruit; mix lightly.
Spread fruit spread evenly over one cake layer; top with second cake layer.
Spoon fruit mixtore over top of cake, letting excess fruit mixture drip down sides.
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