SUMMER is a great time for fresh fruit and much of it can be eaten straight from the fruit bowl or the refrigerator.
But there's more. Fruit can also partner with other flavoursome ingredients to go from a simple summertime snack to a special treat.
My favourite is the simple fruit cake recipe, which works fantastically with all types of fruit including stone summer fruits and the more commonly available apples and pears.
For other quick ideas, there are easy finishing touches to readily available fruits and berries, which can help make all the difference, too.
This cake is a great way to use fresh fruit in your baking.
By all means stay simple or mix different fruits together for a fruit salad effect.
Drain excess juice if necessary before adding fruit to the batter.
Some fruits will benefit from a sprinkling of lemon juice to stop browning while awaiting inclusion in the cake.
FRESH FRUIT CAKE
- 125g butter
- 125g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 200g self-raising flour
- 2 tspns baking powder
- 2 tbspns milk
- 2 cups chopped, fresh fruit (peeled, if necessary) such as peaches, plums, apples, or pears
- 1 tspn vanilla paste
- 1 tspn almond extract (if using peaches)
- Butter and breadcrumbs for preparing the tin
PREHEAT the oven to 180C.
Butter a 23cm cake tin, preferably one with a removable base, and sprinkle with dried breadcrumbs.
Dust off excess crumbs. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar, and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to incorporate.
Sift the flour and baking powder together.
With a wooden spoon mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture with the milk and vanilla paste (and almond extract if using), stirring only enough to incorporate.
Spoon half the mixture into the tin and carefully spoon in the fresh fruit on top of the batter.
Spoon the second half of the batter over the fruit. Don't worry if the batter does not completely cover the fruit. During the cooking process, it will spread and the fruit will be encased in the cake.
Bake in a pre-heated 180C oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and stand for 10 minutes before releasing the sides of the cake tin.
Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar.
This is great accompanied with whipped cream or a scoop or two of vanilla ice-cream.
