Fruity and moist with a nutty crunch, this delicious 'tray-bake' cake is a real treat. Always use ripe soft fruit, the riper the fruit the sweeter and stronger the flavour, and if nectarines aren’t available, but there are lovely juicy peaches to hand, they’ll do nicely.
As with all our recipes, tweak according to personal preference e.g. if not sweet enough, add extra sugar, if too sweet, add a little less. Feel free to leave your own hints, tips and recommendations in the comments section.
Preparation time 20 minutes. Cooking time 40 minutes
Ingredients
2 large ripe nectarines (or peaches)
125g slightly salted butter
100g blanched almonds
125g light brown sugar
2 medium eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
125g Self-raising flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
100g good quality white chocolate
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon for mixing
28cm x 18cm greased baking tin, lined with greaseproof paper
Greaseproof paper for lining
Frying pan
Small microwavable bowl
Preheat oven to 1600C / 3200F
Method:
1. Place almonds in a frying pan, and lightly toast over a gentle heat for 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan frequently. Leave to cool.
2. Stone and dice the nectarines (leave the skin on)
3. Beat together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla essence (your ‘wet mix’).
4. Mix together the four and baking powder, and add to your ‘wet mix’. Stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Roughly chop the nuts and fold half of the nuts into the cake batter, stir thoroughly and pour into your greased and lined baking tin.
6. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and the chopped nectarine pieces over the top of the cake batter.
7. Bake on the middle shelf of a pre-heated oven for approximately 40 minutes, until risen and the sponge feels firm to the touch.
8. Remove from oven and leave to cool in tin.
9. Melt the chocolate gently in the microwave (short 20-30 second bursts on ‘HIGH’ until melted – stir between each heating burst). Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the surface of the cake.
10. Cake can be cut whilst in the tin, or the whole thing can be lifted out (the greaseproof liner will help keep the cake together whilst being handled), placed on a clean flat surface and then cut in a grid shape to produce desired number of portions.
Cake is best eaten within 2-3 days. Not suitable for freezing.