UPSIDE DOWN FRUIT CAKE
This is my version of my childhood tea cake. Simply pick your favourite fruit, drizzle it with a little maple syrup and cinnamon, plonk the batter down, and voila! Simple and delicious and guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's face!
INGREDIENTS:
your favourite fruit
100g butter
150g brown sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
3 eggs (whites separated)
2 cups of wholemeal flour
2tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
cinnamon to taste
drizzle of maple syrup
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Beat the butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until creamy and pale in colour.
Slowly add half of the milk to incorporate.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the mix and mix at a slow speed while adding the rest of the milk to avoid getting flour lumps in the batter.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy. When you can tip the bowl upside down without it falling (this is my favourite part!) it is ready.
Using a spatula, fold in half the whipped eggwhite, then the remaining eggwhites.
Grease a cake tin using butter and flour. (I find rectangular ones are best for this cake for cutting and sharing, but any tin will do)
Place slices of your favourite fruit on the bottom of the tin.
Drizzle with a bit of maple syrup and sprinkle some cinnamon over the fruit.
Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Let it cool in the tin, then turn it out onto a board or platter for a magical surprise!
Serve as is or with cream and more fresh fruit.
Enjoy!
Smiles, Vic
CHANGE IT UP!
Fruit: really, almost any fruit will work! My favourites are berries, pineapple, stone fruit, apple or pear and of course banana!
Batter: Feel free to chop some more fruit up and fold it through the batter as well for even more fruity deliciousness.
This is the perfect recipe for lunchbox muffins as well!
simply put the fruit or choc chips in the batter, line the muffin tins with some baking paper squares or muffin liners and bake for 15-20 minutes instead. They stay fresh for longer if you freeze them and pull them out the night before!
