Peach Crunch Cake

If Joe Nichols can do it, surely you can too. I admit I ran across this in Country Weekly during a stop at my parents' gym while I was visiting one weekend. Afterall, I needed something to entertain myself during a long elliptical session.

It looked so yummy and I thought it would be super great with real peaches. But what's with this peach pie filling crap? That sounds like a lot of unnecessary oil and sugar. I googled "peach crunch cake" and found a few variations of it. One woman even took 1st place in a peach recipe contest at a Peach Festival back in 2006.

I finally had an excuse to make this sugary concoction for a joint birthday party for my roommate and another friend. Beware, once this thing gets baking, it smells like heaven. We were too hungry for this peachy goodness (between rounds of Rock Band) that I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the baked version. Without further ado, the recipe.

Peach Crunch Cake

Ingredients

21-oz. can peach pie filling (I used 3 large fresh peaches)
1 package yellow cake mix
½ cup toffee bits (the grocery store I go to didn't have just toffee bits so I ended up with Heath choc toffee bits)
1 stick (½ cup) butter cut into small pieces (I used 1/2 a stick of butter and it was plenty)
A spoonful of crushed pineapple (a Sass addition)

Preparation

Spread peach filling in 9-by-9-inch baking pan.
Pour dry cake mix on top of fruit filling. Swirl with knife until cake mix is wet.
Place toffee bits on top.
Dot with butter.
Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 45 minutes.
Let sit for a few minutes, then add a scoop of ice cream on top.