Peach (or any fruit, really) Cake
As you may have noticed by now, I really am so psyched about markets and their fresh produce every season (ok, maybe not in the dead of winter but that’s what chocolate is for). This week my bounty was yet again varied and plentiful, and I had such a hard time deciding what to make next.
I came home with mushrooms, peaches, plums, berries, pumpkin and all sorts of greens, everything begging to be cooked with and enjoyed at its peak.
And while most of the fruit ended up being eaten straight from the punnet, the peaches were getting a little overripe so I thought cake would be the natural choice for their fate.
The quatre quarts is a classic French cake, based on a very simple recipe. It literally means “four quarters” and it refers to the fact that it has only 4 ingredients, all in the same quantity: 180g. Eggs, flour, butter, sugar. It’s probably hard to find an easier recipe or, in any case, one that’s easier to remember.
The addition of fruit makes for a lighter dessert and peaches bring a much needed freshness to it. I decided here to place them at the bottom of the pan and make this an upside down cake but you could cut it up in small pieces, dredge them quickly in flour and scatter them in the batter itself. The flour will prevent them from sinking.
You could use most fruits in this cake as it is really versatile. I flavoured it with just vanilla extract and a dash of rum, but you could use lemon or orange zest, almond extract, or any other flavours you might like.
If you make this cake don’t forget to comment and don’t hesitate to subscribe for more recipes weekly straight to your inbox!
Ingredients (makes 1 loaf)
· 2 ripe peaches
· 180g sugar
· 180g butter, room temperature
· 3 large eggs
· 180g flour
· ¼ tsp salt
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
· 1 tbsp spiced rum
Start by preheating your oven at 180 degrees Celsius, fan.
Grease and line a loaf tin with parchment paper. This will make for a much easier unmoulding later on.
Pit and thinly slice the two peaches. Set aside.
Make the cake. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (you can use a handheld mixer for this or even a normal whisk but be warned it will involve a bit of elbow grease) beat the sugar and butter until it lightens in colour and becomes fluffy.
Add the vanilla extract and the rum.
Add the eggs with the motor running, one by one, until well incorporated.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the wet ingredients. Mix well.
At the bottom of the prepared tin place the peach slices, slightly overlapping them. If you’d like, you can put a few slices up the sides as well.
Pour the batter over the peaches and level it.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without any raw batter on it.
Let the cake cool in the tin.
When ready to serve, place an adequate serving dish or cutting board on top of the tin and swiftly turn upside down to unmould the cake. Gently peel back the baking paper. Dust with icing sugar if you’d like.
This pairs wonderfully with some yoghurt, a heavy cream drizzle or a scoop of ice cream, if you’d like.