3 fruity tray bakes - weekend treats just got sweeter with these easy-to-make crowd pleasers

Simple and quick to make, it’s no wonder tray bakes are one of the most popular cakes to make at home. Often using a handful of store cupboard ingredients – they don’t need any fancy equipment, and the results are often much more than the sum of their parts.

Our three tempting bakes use seasonal fruits to capture the sweet flavour of summer. They’re the ideal crowd-pleasing sweet treat for any late-summer gatherings you have planned. Easily packed and transported on a posh picnic or as a make-ahead dessert for a family barbecue.

Our cherry and almond is a take on a blondie – a white chocolate variety of brownie. Peach and pistachio is a fun update on classic congress tart-style bake with a pastry base and a pistachio creme in place of jam.

Finally, the baked cheesecake is a dream to cut and serve at the end of a meal, combined with the floral roasted plums with subtle tarragon and honey flavour. All of these recipes use the same size tray bake tin for ease.

1. Peach and pistachio

On-trend sweet pistachio paste is a match made in heaven with fragrant and floral peaches. The combination of flavours updates this nostalgic-style bake with a pastry base and sponge cake top.

Food Editor Jess Meyer adds, "It’s sturdy enough to transport to a picnic without crumbling. There’s no need to blind-bake the pastry here, as it will cook with the heat from the tin."

• Makes 16-20
• Prep 20 mins | Cook 30-35 mins, plus cooling
• Per serving (for 20): 262 cals, 16g fat, 7g sat fat, 26g carbs
• You will need: 20x25cm tray bake tin

Ingredients

• 175g butter, softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 175g self-raising flour
• 100g natural yogurt
• 320g sweet shortcrust pastry (we used shop-bought)
• 6tbsp pistachio creme
• 2 peaches, sliced
• 50g icing sugar
• ½tsp orange blossom water
• 50g pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped

Method

• 1 Heat the oven to 160C Fan. Beat the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour and yogurt together.
• 2 Fully line the tin with the pastry, prick all over with a fork, then spread with the pistachio creme. Spoon the batter on top, spreading to the edges of the tin. Nestle the peaches evenly over the top of the batter, then bake for 30-35 mins.
• 3 Cool in the tin, then turn out and invert on to a board.
• 4 Mix the icing sugar in a small bowl with the orange blossom water and a little cold water, then drizzle over the tray bake. Decorate with pistachios and cut into 16-20 portions.

2. Baked cheesecake with roast plums

"Our creamy baked cheesecake uses Greek yoghurt for a tangy, fudgier texture, says Jess. "It would taste great with any sweet topping or fruity compote, but our roasted plums make this an irresistible combination."

Line the tin with overhanging paper on each edge to help lift it out and transfer to a board or serving plate.

• Makes 12
• Prep 20 mins | Cook 55 mins, plus cooling and chilling
• Per serving: 343 cals, 23g fat, 14g sat fat, 28g carbs
• You will need: 20x25cm tray bake tin

Ingredients

• 6 plums (any colour), quartered
• 2tbsp orange blossom honey
• 3 bushy sprigs tarragon, plus extra to garnish
• 2tsp orange blossom water
• 200g digestives
• 100g butter, melted
• 3 x 165g packs Philadelphia cream cheese
• 300g Greek yogurt
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• 100g caster sugar

Method

• 1 Heat the oven to 180C Fan. Roast the plums in a medium baking dish, tossed with the honey, tarragon and orange blossom water, for 25 mins or until squidgy and syrupy. Leave to cool.
• 2 Meanwhile, pulse the digestives to make crumbs, then pulse again with the melted butter to combine. Spread over the base of the tin and chill.
• 3 Reduce the oven to 160C Fan. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese with the yogurt, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Pour over the biscuit base and level.
• 4 Transfer to a large, deep roasting tin. Pour hot water from the kettle around the tin to act as a water bath (bain-marie). Bake for 30 mins.
• 5 Cool in the tin on a wire rack, then chill. Serve decorated with the roasted plums, garnished with tarragon leaves.

3. White chocolate, cherry and almond

This delicious bake gets better after a day or two in a tin, so it’s worth making ahead for a sweet treat over the weekend. "It’s also ridiculously simple to whip up using a melt and mix method, where everything gets mixed in the same bowl", adds Jess.

To make this gluten-free, swap the 100g self-raising flour for 100g almonds. You can swap cherries for raspberries or blueberries.

• Makes 16-20
• Prep 10 mins | Cook 35-40 mins, plus cooling
• Per serving (for 20): 280 cals, 20g fat, 9g sat fat, 21g carbs
• You will need: 20x25cm tray bake tin

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter, melted
• 4 medium free-range eggs
• 175g soft brown sugar
• 100g self-raising flour
• 200g ground almonds
• 200g white chocolate, chopped
• 200g cherries, stones removed and halved

Method

• 1 Heat the oven to 160C Fan. Fully line the tin with baking paper.
• 2 In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, eggs, sugar, flour and almonds, then fold through the white chocolate and cherries.
• 3 Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and risen, and the top feels springy to the touch. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.
• 4 Remove from the tin and cut into 16-20 bars or squares before serving.

Credits: Recipes: Jen Bedloe. Food styling: Jess Meyer, assisted by Catrina Gell. Props: Victoria Eldridge. Green serving tray available at Falcon Enamelware.