Today we’re featuring a fruit cake, but not the dreaded kind of fruitcake that everyone makes jokes about.
The basic butter cake base is a piece of cake to make. And then it transforms into a “choose your own adventure” project, as you make it one time with sweet-tart raspberries and a lemony drizzle, and perhaps succulent apricots with a pistachio streusel the next.
Peaches with a sprinkling of pecans and a bourbon glaze sounds good too, doesn’t it?
This cake doesn’t get boring because you never have to make it the same way twice — that is, unless you’ve fallen in love with a particular version and can’t bear to deviate from it.
Change up the fruits and the toppings each time you bake this — and we promise you’ll make it often — mixing and matching as your favorite fruits ripen and reach their peak of perfection. Sprinkle it with plain sugar or add in a pinch of cinnamon, too. Shower it in a nutty-oaty streusel, or not. Glam it up with a glaze.
The choice is yours, each and every time.
You can even use chopped or thinly sliced apples and chunks of pear in the fall, or frozen fruits (defrosted and drained) in the winter. This cake can transition through the seasons with you, as we celebrate summer over Labor Day weekend then start looking ahead to autumn.
Yes, this is one recipe to rule them all.
You’re welcome.
Fruit-Topped Butter Cake
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
Fruit, to top the cake (see Note 1)
Topping, to sprinkle over the cake (see Note 2), optional
Glaze, to drizzle over the cake (see Note 3), optional
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Beat in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined, then spread the batter into the prepared pan.
Arrange the fruit over the cake, lightly pressing it into the batter.
Cover the cake with a topping, if desired, then bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before drizzling with glaze, if desired; let the glaze set before serving.
Run a knife around the edge of the pan, then slice the cake and serve.
Note 1: This cake is a perfect showcase for summer fruits. Blueberries and raspberries can be left whole; cherries need to be pitted and can be halved, and stone fruits can be chopped, quartered, halved, or sliced (but not too thinly). You’ll need perhaps 3 small peaches, 3 plums, 6 apricots, 1 to 1½ cups berries (size-dependent), or 2 cups cherries.
Note 2: The topping for this cake can be as simple as a sprinkling of sugar, cinnamon sugar, or cardamom- or nutmeg-spiced sugar. Or you can stir about ¼ cup ground, finely chopped, or sliced nuts into the sugar before sprinkling it over the cake. Or you can make a streusel (see recipe below) and use it instead of sugar as a topping. The choice is yours, depending on what fruit you’re using, what ingredients you have on hand, etc. You can also skip the topping, if you prefer to simply drizzle a glaze over the cake.
Note 3: The glaze is a nice finishing touch for this cake, making it just a bit more special, but the cake is also lovely topped with just sugar or streusel. Flavor the glaze with juice, with a liqueur, or even just with water if you want a simple classic to complement any fruit you’ve chosen. If you use a citrus juice, it’s nice to also add the minced zest for pretty flecks of color.
Yield: 8 servings
Source: Mary Bilyeu
Streusel
4 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ cup ground or finely chopped nuts and/or old-fashioned oats
Pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, and/or nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ cup flour
Place the butter into a small mixing bowl; add the nuts and/or oats, the spice, and the brown sugar. Stir in the flour with a fork until the mixture is crumbly, then sprinkle it over the cake base.
Yield: About 1 cup (enough for 1 Fruit-Topped Butter Cake)
Source: Mary Bilyeu
Glaze
⅔ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons liquid: water, milk, citrus juice, limoncello, brandy, bourbon, etc.
Citrus zest, optional
Place the powdered sugar into a small mixing bowl and whisk in the liquid and optional zest until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake and let it set before slicing and serving.
Yield: About ½ cup (enough for 1 Fruit-Topped Butter Cake)
Source: Mary Bilyeu
First Published September 4, 2022, 12:00 p.m.
