Summer Fruit Almond Cake

December 1st, 2021

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Happy first day of summer! (For everyone in the southern hemisphere that is.) We have had such a warm end of spring it has already felt a little like summer. Although without the abundance of summer fruit, which to me really makes summer ‘summer’. I spied the first cherries and punnets of blackberries at the farmers’ market this morning. Of course, I had to come home with a large punnet of my favourite Karaka blackberries safely transported in the basket of my bike.  And now they are almost all gone ;-/

To celebrate the beginning of summer here is a cake recipe that can be made with any selection of summer fruit. The one pictured I prepared with rhubarb and strawberry since they are an excellent match, and I had raided my sisters garden again for her ruby-hued rhubarb stalks. The astringent tartness of the rhubarb is perfectly complemented by the sweet perfume of strawberries. But any fruit combo can be used and I have included more suggestions below.

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Homegrown Kitchen 2022 Recipe Calendar

Now is the time to get your calendar orders in, if you haven’t already. The calendar begins with December 2021 through to December 2022 so you can start using it straight away + for planning into the new year. They also make great end-of-year/Christmas pressies. Order 3 or more copies for free postage within New Zealand.

*Find more details about my annual Homegrown Kitchen recipe calendar here.

Summer Fruit Almond Cake

This is a moist-crumb, fruit-heavy cake. The base recipe can be used with any spring-into-summer fruit selection – peach and blueberry, nectarine and raspberry, plum and blackberry, you get the picture (using a total of 2 cups fruit). The key is to toss the fruit in a little sugar before mixing it through the batter, so as to evenly disperse throughout the cake.

Servings 12 slices

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 100 g room-temperature butter
• ⅓ cup (70g) sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup (120g) unsweetened yoghurt
• 1 cup (150g) plain flour (can use spelt, or gluten-free flour)
• ½ cup (60g) ground almonds (almond flour)
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen rhubarb, chopped into 2cm pieces
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped into 2cm pieces
• 2 tbsp extra sugar
• 3-4 tbsp sliced almonds

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan bake 160ºC).
• Grease and line a 22cm round cake tin. For the rustic ‘creased sides’ look, scrunch up the baking paper first then press into the tin.
• Place the butter and sugar into a stand mixer and beat until creamy. Add the vanilla, then eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the yoghurt and mix to combine.
• Place the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt in a bowl and whisk together.
• In another bowl, combine the rhubarb and strawberry pieces. Add 1 tbsp of the second measure of sugar and toss to coat. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and use a spatula to fold together. Add the fruit and fold briefly through the batter – don’t over mix.
• Pour into the tin, smooth the surface and scatter with the sliced almonds and an extra tbsp of sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the almonds are golden, and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve wedges of cake with creamy natural yoghurt.