Peach, Blueberry & Almond Frangipane Cake

This has got to be one of my all time favourite go to desserts or treats. It’s so versatile and lends itself so well to all kinds of fruits – the possibilities are ENDLESS and just a simple tweak here and there you can change the flavour of this humble deliciousness completely. If we are going on holiday somewhere and I know I will be cooking here and there I always travel with a bag of ground almonds as I can find everything else very easily and locally.

This dessert dish tastes much more sophisticated than it actually is in terms of preparation as is such a crowd pleaser! 

Ingredients

2 eggs preferably organic and free range

170g ground almonds (almond flour)

170g softened butter

100g unrefined light brown or caster sugar OR coconut sugar OR honey

1 tsp almond extract (optional depending on what other flavours you are adding– can use vanilla, Rose water or cinnamon, or cardamom etc..)

1 tsp baking powder.

Zest 1 lemon

Flaked almonds to scatter for decoration

1 – 1 1/2 cups Fruit of your choice – here are some of my favourite combos:

  • 1 cup of poached peach slices with frozen or fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup stewed plums with cinnamon & star anise.
  • 1 cup mixed fresh berries with 1 tbsp rosewater.
  • 1 cup stewed apple & cinnamon
  • 1 cup fresh mango, 2 tbsp chopped preserved ginger & cardamom ( I would take out the almond extract and replace with 1/2 tsp ground cardamom)
  • 1 cup cherries & berries (could also add some chocolate chips here)
  • 1 cup fresh ripe figs & Cinnamon

If you start at the outside of the dish and work your way in its easier to spread the batter over the fruit. My batter is slightly dark as I used coconut sugar here.

Method

  • Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease a dish, roughly 18 x 25cm, then set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix the soft butter, sugar, eggs, flour, almonds, zest, almond extract (or flavouring of your choice) and a pinch of salt (if you used salted butter then skip the salt here) with an electric whisk until combined.
  • Dollop the sponge mixture over the fruit starting at the sides so the batter will stick and work your way inwards and spread to a smooth layer, trying not to disturb the fruit underneath too much.

  • Scatter over the flaked almonds, then bake for 35 – 45 mins until a skewer inserted into the sponge layer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then serve warm or cold with greek yogurt mixed with vanilla, ice cream, custard or whipped cream and vanilla.

NB: If you use decent unrefined sugar you will get  a lighter more golden coloured finish 🙂

watch my You Tube video on how to make this treat – In this version I added rose water into the batter:

In this version below I par-baked a wholemeal pastry base first then added the frangipane mixture and added the sliced peaches on top along with some pastry flowers for decoration!