Dutch Oven Peaches & Cream Pudding
This is one of those recipes that makes me feel a little bit nostalgic. It’s one of the flavors of my childhood. A soft vanilla sponge, layers of jammy, spiced peaches, and a creamy vanilla custard baked right on top. It’s the sort of dessert that is just like a big hug. And honestly, anything baked in a Dutch oven always tastes that extra bit delicious, doesn’t it?!
If you’re new here, you might not know I also run a small online store where I keep many of the tools I cook with every day, along with a few timeless homewares for good, slow living…
A bit of a backstory…
This is a rip-off of a simple recipe we used to make as kids. I have no idea where it came from, but it was a hit with our family, and for so long, my sister nagged me to recreate it from scratch. It was missed, and we needed to bring it back!
As kids, we always made dessert on Saturday night. As I got older and more experienced in the kitchen, the desserts got fancier, but these days, a seasonal pudding or some roasted fruit with ice cream, like these oven-roasted peaches, is where it’s at. I just love the simplicity of it.
I’ve never known peaches and cream it to be cooked in anything but an oval, mustard-coloured Pyrex dish (flower motif and all!) that was so 1980’s, but as we know around here, I like to cook in cast iron cookware, and so, challenge accepted!
It’s my favourite peach dessert. Plus, my fiercest recipe tester (my sister) has said that I nailed this recipe, so I hope you love it as much as we do!
There’s a lot to love about this recipe…
It’s the perfect end-of-summer dessert when the best peaches are sweet and juicy.
We’re baking this oh-so comforting, 80’s classic into your favourite Dutch oven – talk about old school!
It’s the kind of pudding you serve the whole family (kids and all!) after a Sunday roast, with big, generous helping — preferably with ice cream melting into the top.
Ingredients
- Fresh peaches, each peach sliced into 8 equal pieces.
- Pantry – brown sugar, caster sugar, plain, all-purpose flour, cornflour, bi-carb soda, baking powder
- Spice – Vanilla bean, seeds scraped, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg
- Dairy – unsalted butter, Greek yogurt, thickened or heavy cream
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs at room temperature
How to make Peaches & Cream
- Preheat the oven.
- Start by tossing fresh peach slices with sugar and spice and baking until soft and juicy.
- While the fruit is doing its thing, make the batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients for the sponge before rubbing in the butter and stirring through the sugar. Add the wet ingredients to form a thick batter, then fold through a few chopped peaches for extra bursts of flavour.
- Spread the batter into a small Dutch oven, layer the remaining peaches over the top, and bake until the sponge is lightly golden. Leave to cool.
- Make the custard and pour it over the peach sponge. Sprinkle with cinnamon and return the pot to the oven until everything is just set.
- Cool before devouring!
Equipment
Here is everything you need to get started…
Small Dutch oven or enamelled cast-iron casserole. I cook this recipe in my 22cm Le Creuset enamel cast-iron Dutch ovens, although I have used my 20cm as well. A small oven-proof dish will also do the job, although please note, cooking times may vary.
You’ll also need a few kitchen staples like mixing bowls, a whisk, a chopping board, a small knife (I use a 12cm paring or 15cm utility knife), as well as measuring cups and spoons.
Cooks notes
There is three things that you really need to know for this recipe…
Choose juicy ripe peaches – They should be fragrant and just slightly soft to the touch. Make sure you let the sponge cool for at least an hour before adding the custard, otherwise it will soak through it sponge and create a big mess! And finally, keep an eye on the final bake. You want the custard to be just set with a slight wobble.
Let’s Serve It Up
This pudding is best served slightly warm, when the custard is silky, and the peaches are soft and syrupy.
Add a scoop of:
- Vanilla ice cream
- Lightly whipped or double cream
- Or even a dollop of crème fraîche
FAQ’s
Storage
I store my peaches and cream in the cast-iron pot that I cook the pudding in. Alternatively, you can transfer any leftovers to a refrigerator-safe, airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat, put a scoop or two in a microwave safe bowl, pop in the microwave and reheat in 30-second bursts.
Love puddings as much as I do? Try these recipes…
- Cast Iron Apple & Pecan Cobbler
- Bread and Butter Pudding with Fruit Mince
- Apple and Blackberry Crumble
Happy Baking
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Dutch Oven Peaches & Cream Pudding
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 serves 1x
Description
This is one of the flavors of my childhood. A soft vanilla sponge, layers of jammy, spiced peaches, and a creamy vanilla custard baked right on top. It’s the sort of dessert that is just like a big hug.Â
Ingredients
Oven-roasted peaches
- 700g fresh yellow peaches, seed removed and cut into 8 equal slices (roughly 4 large peaches)
- 1/4c brown sugar
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground
- 1/2 vanilla pod, scraped of seeds
Sponge Filling
- 3/4 c plain, all-purpose flour
- 40g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp almond meal
- 1/4 tsp bicarb soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2c sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3/4c Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Custard ToppingÂ
- 2 egg yolks
- 300ml thickened cream
- 1/4c sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1/2 vanilla pod, scraped of seeds
- pinch of cinnamon, ground
Instructions
Oven-roasted peaches
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.
- Prepare the peaches by removing the seed and cutting each peach into 8 equal pieces. Pop into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar and spices, sprinkling the brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla seeds evenly over the peaches. Toss gently with a spoon or your hands until the peaches are well coated.
- Pop them onto a tray or large cast iron skillet lined with parchment paper. Be sure to give them space to breath, otherwise they with stew, not roast.
- Roast uncovered for 25–30 minutes and set aside to cool
Sponge Filling
- Pop the flour in a small mixing bowl. Give it a quick whisk to aerate the flour.
- Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the almond meal, bicarb soda, and baking powder, sugar and mix through.
- Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the beaten egg, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly until the mixture is like a thick cake batter. From the roasted fruit, roughly chop 6 peach slices into 1cm pieces and gently fold through the batter.
- Pour the batter into a small Dutch and smooth over the top. Layer the remaining peaches on top in a single layer. Pop into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 1 hour.
Custard Topping
- Reduce the oven temperature to 170°c/340°f
- In a small bowl, give the egg a quick whisk.
- Add the thickened cream, sugar, cornflour and the scraped beans from the other half of the vanilla bean. Whisk everything together to combine and gently pour over the baked sponge.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.
- Pop the Dutch oven back into the oven for a further 20-30 minutes or until the custard has set.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving warm with vanilla icecream.
Notes
- Choose juicy ripe peaches – They should be fragrant and just slightly soft to the touch.
- Make sure you let the sponge cool for at least an hour before adding the custard, otherwise it will soak through it sponge and create a big mess!
- And finally, keep an eye on the final bake. You want the custard to be just set with a slight wobble.
- This recipe was cooked in my Le Creuset 22cm enamle Dutch oven.
- Please note all recipes on this website are in US measurements. Eg, 1 cup / 240ml, 1 tablespoon/15mls. Oven temperatures refer to a fan-forced oven.
