July 30, 2012
I always keep a bowl of fruit on the counter for easy snacking for the family. Recently, it was filled with fruit that was definitely a little past its prime. Instead of throwing it out, I used it up in this very forgiving cake recipe. It saved the day on a night when I had guests coming into town and was struggling to come up with a plan for dessert. I freelanced with an assortment of donut peaches and plums (but any stone fruit would work well). Then, I baked it in a rectangular tart pan to dress it up. The whole-wheat flour in this recipe gives the cake some rustic flair, showcasing the fruit and not overpowering it. This cake is an “any time of day” cake— delicious after dinner with a dollop of crème fraîche or dipped in your coffee the next morning.
Serves 8
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter (soft)
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 donut peaches (or any ripe stone fruit that you have on hand), sliced
2 plums, sliced
Toppings can vary to your liking- a drizzle of lemon and sprinkle of sugar or jam and powdered sugar.
Cream sugar and butter until fluffy — about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, then follow with the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla and mix well. Using a silicon spatula scrape the cake batter into a buttered and floured rectangular tart pan or cake pan of your choice. Arrange the stone fruit in a alternating pattern a top of the batter (this way you get plums and peaches in one bite). Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of sugar and a squeeze of lemon or in lieu of sugar and lemon or you can brush the fruit with your favorite preserves.
Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool. Slice and serve with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.
Note: If you make it in advance and freeze it, you can bring it to lukewarm in a 300 degree oven.
