A fresh, fruity cake for summer

I originally made this cake as a birthday cake for T, way back in April. If memory serves correctly I hadn't got the fruit required by the original recipe (raspberries and apricots) which can be found here (no, I don't know what a buckle is!), so I used raspberries (in the quantity stated) and a pear, which I grated on the coarse side of a box grater. It seemed quite wet though, so I squeezed most of the excess juice out using my hands. Very sophisticated! Because it was the first time I'd made the recipe I did the crumble topping too, and I have to say, the cake was delicious. It was really, really moist and beautifully fruity, with the juicy pockets of raspberry providing a sharp berry burst to complement the soft cakey part. (I think I've mentioned before how much I love raspberries) Yum yum yum!!!

So, I decided to make it again. This time I didn't bother with the crumble topping as I was in a bit of a hurry, and again I had the wrong fruit, but the beauty of this cake is that the fruit is adaptable. I used about 90g of raspberries and two nectarines instead of the apricots. I quartered the nectarines and then cut each quarter into 6-8 pieces, depending on how much it was falling apart under my knife!

The cake is extremely easy to make and I followed the instructions as written, apart from omitting the cinnamon, which I sometimes find a little overpowering, and which my family don't really like much and leaving my cake in for nearly an hour. After the time alloted in the recipe it was still looking a little 'pale and interesting' and I prefer my cakes to be a darker golden colour, especially if I'm not planning to dress them up at all. I think this version was a little drier, but still very moist, as you can see from the photo above. My cake isn't quite as deep as the one in the recipe photo (I love recipes where they give you a photo of a finished product to aim towards) but I suppose it might have been deeper had I used more fruit. Definitely one to make again and again, and the crumble is definitely worth it if you have the time. It makes a nice textural contrast to the soft cake and juicy fruit. Below is the cake I made in April, with pear and raspberries and the crumble topping. The picture isn't great as I took it for interest rather than planning on blogging it, so it's still in the tin.