The master method for a perfect cake every time (plus a peach crisp cake recipe)

The secrets to the perfect peach crisp cake are the same for any other cake you bake!

It's a peach crisp cake that's been perfected. Courtney Rich is a master of her craft and through trial and error, she's learned how to get moist, flavorful cakes every time. With just a few simple tips, you can do the same! Courtney shared her tried-and-true methods as she taught us how to make this perfect peach crisp cake.

Use Room Temperature Ingredients

Courtney said the most important step in achieving light, fluffy cakes is starting with ingredients that aren't cold. Cold ingredients don't blend smoothly and can prevent the batter from rising. "Things won't rise very well. They're not absorbed into the dry ingredients, which also prevents them from rising," she explained. "You're ending up with cake layers that are maybe half the size and really dense in texture."

Mix Ingredients Well

When creaming butter, oil and sugar, Courtney said to run the mixer on high. "You're gonna mix that so it's nice and fluffy, and then as we add our eggs, we still need to make sure those are mixing really well," she explained. "Keep this in mind: at the beginning, speed is high. At the end, we're gonna have it low."

Watch for Visual Cues in the Batter

Courtney said to trust what you see as much as what you read in the recipe. "It's gonna get lighter in color. It's gonna get fluffier in texture," she said. "That shouldn't look separated. That is a cue that maybe it's not mixed enough or our ingredients are too cold."

Alternate Dry & Wet Ingredients

To get an even texture, Courtney said to alternate adding dry ingredients with liquids like buttermilk or yogurt and keep the mixer on a low speed. "It just helps things mix evenly and smooth," she said.

Peach Crisp Cake

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

• 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons (366 g) cake flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (73.3 g) canola oil
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) butter extract
• 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) clear vanilla extract
• 1 cup (245 g) Chobani Peach Greek Yogurt, room temperature

For the Crumble

• 3/4 cup (67 g) oats
• 1/4 cup (50 g) light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (42.4 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.32 g) ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (2 g) salt

For the Compote

• 2 cups (450 g) peaches chopped, fresh or canned
• 2 tablespoons (27.5 g) light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon (2.5 g) cornstarch, dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water

For the Buttercream

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1 tablespoon (12.6 g) vanilla bean paste
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream

*This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you'll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

METHOD

For the Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch with non-stick spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, oil, and sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
4. Turn the mixer to medium-low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between each addition. Add the extracts and then turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for an additional 3 minutes. We want the texture to be smooth, the color to look lighter, and the volume to have nearly doubled in size.
5. With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture with the Chobani yogurt, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
6. Evenly distribute the cake batter in the three pans, about 16 to 17 ounces of batter in each 8-inch pan.
7. Bake the cakes for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out with only just a few crumbs on it.
8. Cool the cakes on wire racks for about 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cakes onto cooking racks to cool completely. If you don't plan to stack and decorate the cake right away, level the cakes if needed and then immediately wrap each layer in plastic wrap or tin foil and freeze.
9. About an hour before assembly, remove the cake layers from the freezer.

For the Crumble

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon and salt. Mix by hand with a wooden spoon until the mixture resembles clumps of sand. Spread the crumble over the parchment paper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. The crumble should be golden brown. Let it cool completely and then crumble the mixture into smaller pieces, if needed.

For the Compote

1. Place 1 cup of the peaches and the sugar into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a small food processor or blender and pulse until it becomes more of a puree. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
2. Add remaining 1 cup of peaches and cook for 5 minutes. Add cornstarch slurry and simmer until thick. Cool completely before using on cake.

For the Buttercream

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar, followed by the heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, and dash of salt.
3. Continue to beat the frosting on medium-high speed for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Before frosting your cake, mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

Assembly

1. Place the first cake layer, top side up (crumb side up), on a cake board or cake plate. Using an offset icing spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting over the cake layer. This creates a barrier between the cake and peach filling so the cake doesn't become soggy.
2. Pipe a rim of frosting around the edge of the cake layer. This will help support the cake layers and prevent the peach filling from spilling out. (You may even need to pipe a second time over the first rim you made).
3. Spread about half of the peach filling on the cake layer.
4. Sprinkle about half of the crumble over the peach filling.
5. Gently place the second cake layer on top of the filling and crumble and repeat steps 2 to 4.
6. Place the final cake layer top side down on the second layer of filling.
7. Freeze the cake for about 10 minutes to help set the frosting and filling, making it a bit more stable for when you frost. If the cake still feels wobbly, add a dowel to the center of the cake (or you can even use drinking straws for this).
8. After the filling is set, use a small amount of frosting to apply a crumb coat around the entire cake. Freeze the cake again for another 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
9. After the crumbs are locked in, continue to frost and decorate the cake.

• Find more recipes from Courtney on Instagram, @cakebycourtney, or at cakebycourtney.com.