Happy New Year, everyone! We’re kicking off 2019 with cake, using the best of winter fruit: juicy strawberries and crisp apples. It’s a simple combination that tastes wonderful together.
This cake is adapted from a Butter and Brioche olive oil recipe that uses ground almonds. The idea to swap olive oil for browned butter stuck with me — the nutty, toasty flavor of browned butter plus almond meal makes a cake so full of flavor you’ll keep coming back to it. I topped the cake with diced strawberries and apples for a little fruity bite.
I toss the fruit with a touch of powdered sugar and reduce the sugar in the cake batter so the overall sweetness stays balanced. The browned butter gives the cake a toasty, nutty depth, and the ground almonds make the crumb a bit denser than an all-flour cake while keeping it moist, tender and soft.
You can fold fruit into the batter if you prefer, but I like a simple cake base with the fruit piled on top. Folding fruit into batter can create moist patches, which is fine, but keeping the fruit as a topping keeps the texture more even.
Sliced almonds scattered on top add extra crunch that complements the soft, jammy fruit. A little lemon or orange zest in the batter would be a lovely addition. This cake is delicious with hot tea, and it’s also excellent with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
I hope you’ll try this while strawberries are in season. Happy baking!
Browned Butter Apple Strawberry Cake
30 mins
45 mins
1 hr 15 mins
9 ” cake
Ingredients
For the fruit topping
- 8 to 10 ripe strawberries, diced
- 1 medium apple, peeled and diced
- 2 tsps caster sugar
- 2 to 3 tbsps sliced almonds
For the cake
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed and at room temp (170 g)
- 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 salt
- 3/4 cup finely ground almonds
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (increase to 1 cup if berries are sour)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain yoghurt or curd
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the chopped fruit and sugar. Stir and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan set over low heat, stirring occasionally. Let it foam and bubble, then settle and show brown bits on the bottom and sides. When it smells nutty and fragrant, remove from heat and pour the browned butter into a mixing bowl to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and grease a 9″ springform tin.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Stir in the ground almonds.
- Add the sugar to the cooled browned butter and stir. Add the eggs and vanilla, then whisk until combined.
- Stir in the yoghurt. Fold in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth but thick batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin, smooth the top and spoon the sugared fruit over the surface. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top may have moist patches from the fruit; check the very center for doneness.
- Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove the springform sides and cool to lukewarm before serving. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 1–2 days, then refrigerate for up to a week.
Notes
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