Peach Coffee Cake is made with yeast dough & layered with pecan streusel. The brown sugar crumb topping and peach glaze are the crowning glory of this luscious breakfast (or dessert) treat.

closeup of peach & pecan streusel coffee cake

Ok, let’s get right to it. It took just two tries to get this recipe right. But the first try was a truly spectacular failure. I’m really sorry that I didn’t get any photos. It was so bad it was funny.

Why was that first cake such a disaster? First of all, I made waaaay too much dough.

I rolled the dough to a big rectangle, brushed it with egg wash, sprinkled on the streusel filling and then the peach chunks on top of the streusel.

I rolled the dough into a log, then formed the log into a ring. I placed the dough into a buttered cake pan.

Since it was late, I put the cake in the fridge to rise overnight. By the morning it had completely filled the 9″ round spring form pan. I baked it anyway.

It continued to rise in the oven and mushroomed way over the top of the pan. Did you ever see that episode of I Love Lucy where she opens the oven and the bread shoots across the room? It was kind of like that.

Because it was so big, by the time the middle was baked the outside was totally burnt. Again, reaaaaly sorry I didn’t get of photo. It was, literally, a hot mess.

I cut it open anyway to see what it looked like inside. The bread part actually had a very nice texture and flavor. But the streusel absorbed all the moisture from the peaches and the filling was just mushy and muddled with no distinct bits of peach or streusel.

How to make a great Peach Coffee Cake

See the recipe card for exact ingredient measurements and detailed instructions.

Grind the pecans with sugar and cinnamon to make streusel. Then add flour and butter to make the crumb topping.

components for peach & pecan streusel coffee cake

Gather your components and layer the coffee cake with peaches, streusel and crumb topping.

a rectangle of dough with peach chunks on half the dough

Layer peaches into the top half of the dough

Fold the dough over the peaches. Use a fork to puncture any air bubbles, then seal the edges of the dough.

Sprinkle the folded dough with pecan streusel, then roll and seal the edges to form a log. Bring the two ends of the log together to form a ring.

a peach & pecan streusel coffee cake in a tube pan

Set the ring into the prepared pan. It’s ok if a little streusel or peach leaks out.

Once the dough is proofed, crumble on the topping.

Pastry Chef tips for making Peach Coffee Cake with pecan streusel

Macerate the peaches so they hold their shape while baking and to remove excess moisture.
Layer the fillings into the dough separately to get two distinct fillings; a crunchy pecan streusel and a nice layer of peach chunks.

Since you love coffee cake, try these other fabulous recipes: Sourdough Coffee Cake, Banana Coffee Cake, Pumpkin Coffee Cake, Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake.

Here are more peach recipes

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

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5 from 3 reviews

Peach & Pecan Struesel Coffee Cake

By: Eileen Gray

Peach & Pecan Streusel Coffee cake is made with a yeast dough enriched with butter, milk and eggs.

Prep Time45

Bake Time30

Rising Time2

Total Time3 15

12 servings

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Ingredients

4 oz whole milk (½ cup, warmed to 120 °F)
2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast
2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg (room temperature)
10 oz all-purpose flour (2 cups, see note)
2 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 ripe peaches
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt

Streusel

2 ½ oz brown sugar (⅓ cup)
2 ½ oz granulated sugar (⅓ cup)
4 oz Pecans (1 cup)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 ½ oz all purpose flour (½ cup)
2 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)

Assembly

Butter for pan prep
1 egg (whisked)
4 oz confectioner’s sugar (1 cup)
reserved peach juice

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, combine 4 oz whole milk, 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast, 2 oz granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt,1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon cinnamon,1 large egg and 1 cup of the flour. Mix until it forms a thick batter.
If working on a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook. With the mixer running, add the remaining flour until the dough gathers on the hook and clears the sides of the bowl. If working by hand mix as much flour as you can with the spoon, then finish kneading in the rest of the flour by hand.
With the mixer running, toss in 2 oz unsalted butter, a tablespoon at a time. If working by hand knead the butter into the dough. The dough will break apart. Knead until it comes back together then knead for 5 minutes. If the dough is very sticky add a little more flour.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead to a smooth ball. The dough should be soft and silky.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover the bowl and set it aside to let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.

Prepare the filling

Peel the peaches and chop into ½" cubes. You should have about 2 cups of chopped peaches. Toss the peaches with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon table salt. Set aside for at least 1 hour, or until the dough is ready.
To make the streusel, combine 2 ½ oz brown sugar, 2 ½ oz granulated sugar, 4 oz Pecans, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon table salt in a food processor. Process until the nuts are chopped coarsely but not ground to a powder. Remove 2/3 cup for filling and set it aside.
Add 2 ½ oz all purpose flour and 2 oz unsalted butter to the remaining streusel and process until it forms clumps. Set it aside

Assembly

Generously butter a 10" tube pan. Drain the peaches, saving the peach juice for later. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll the dough to a 12"x 16"rectangle. Brush the surface of the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle the peach chunks over upper 1/2 of the rectangle. Fold the lower half of the dough over the upper 1/2 to cover the peaches.
Use a fork to puncture any large air bubbles that form. Brush the dough with egg wash then sprinkle with the pecan streusel.
Roll the dough into a log, pinch the seam to seal.
Bring the two ends of the log together to form a ring. Pinch the ends together.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan. Brush the surface of the cake with egg wash. Cover the pan and set aside to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. (See notes for overnight rise).
Preheat the oven to 350 °F
Grab large chunks of the crumb topping break them into smaller chunks over the surface of the cake. Bake until the cake is well risen and golden brown, about 30 minutes. You can use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature. It should be about 190°F.
Cool the cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Combine the confectioner's sugar with enough of the reserved peach juice to form a icing with the texture of pancake batter. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and allow it to set.

Equipment

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Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

To work ahead, place the cake in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, take the cake out of the refrigerator and let it warm up while the oven preheats. The cake will probably rise in the refrigerator overnight, but you can let it finish rising if it is still not fully proofed. Once the oven is preheated, proceed with the recipe as written.

The cake is best the day it is baked but will keep at room temperature for 1-2 days.

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