Stone fruits have started to arrive, so to celebrate the start of Summer and peach season I made a peach, amaretti and vanilla cake. A soft, vanilla-rich sponge filled with chunks of fresh peach and flecked with almond from the amaretti biscuits and finished with a caramelised fruit topping and toasted almonds. It’s delicious served alongside fresh yoghurt with vanilla folded through it too. To make the cake, you will need:
120g butter
80g soft brown sugar
40g caster sugar
120g flour
2 large, free-range eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
75g amaretti biscuits, crushed (50g for inside the cake, 25g for the topping)
One and a half peaches, stoned – one cut into thin, whole slices and the remaining half diced
One tbsp flaked almonds.
Preheat the oven to 160C Fan. First, cream the butter and sugars until light and very fluffy – approx five minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time with a little flour and the vanilla extract, beating until just incorporated. Fold in the remaining flour gently, followed by half of one of the peaches, diced, and 50g of the amaretti. Pour into a greased and lined 20cm baking tin and then top with the remaining peach slices, 25g of the remaining amaretti and a sprinkling of flaked almonds. Bake for 50 mins – one hour, until cooked through (you may need to cover with tinfoil to stop it catching). Serve with yoghurt mixed with a little vanilla extract.
Recipe by me!