A delicious Autumn recipe that would work perfectly as a dinner party dessert or just a lovely treat for the family, try this crumble and cake hybrid today.
Ingredients
- for the streusel topping
- 85g (3½oz) plain flour
- ½tsp ground cinnamon
- 50g (2oz) unsalted butter, chilled
- 50g (2oz) golden caster sugar
- for the filling
- 600g (1lb 5oz) plums, blackberries and canned pears, roughly chopped
- 25g (1oz) caster sugar
- for the cake
- 175g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 175g (6oz) light brown sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 175g (6oz) self-raising flour, sifted
- ½tsp ground cinnamon
- 1tsp baking powder
- you will need
- 20cm (8in) round springform tin, greased and double lined with baking parchment
Method
Heat the oven to 170C, 150C fan, 325F, gas 3. To make the topping, place the flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Stir in the sugar and set aside.
To make the filling, toss the fruit together in a bowl with the sugar.
To make the cake, whisk the butter and sugar together until light, pale and creamy, then gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla. Now fold in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder. To assemble the cake, fold the fruit into the cake mix, pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
Bake for 45 minutes, then sprinkle on the crumble topping and bake for a further 45 minutes. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean – though it will be slightly wet because of the fruit, the crumble should be golden and crisp. Leave to cool in the tin.
Top Tip
We used canned pears in this cake, rather than fresh, to guarantee the moistness; unripe pears wouldn't soften enough. Do make sure you cool the cake in the tin as it will be very fragile when it comes out of the oven.
