These fruit tea cakes are a delicious way to take advantage of all the wonderful fruit, particularly stone fruit, that is in markets everywhere at this time of year. Get some deliciously ripe peaches or cherries and these light, tender cakes are sure to please!
The Recipe
by volume by weight
2½ cups all purpose flour 300 grams all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder 8 grams baking powder
2 teaspoons salt 8 grams salt
1 cup sugar 198 grams sugar
3/4 cup soft butter 168 grams soft butter
4 eggs 272 grams eggs
1½ tablespoons vanilla 16 grams vanilla
2½ cups chopped fruit 575 grams chopped fruit
Directions
Heat the oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. The mixture should be almost white in color.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition to incorporate.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla and mix just until a soft dough forms.
Form the dough into a flat disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes. I like to do this with parchment paper but plastic wrap will work as well.
To assemble the cakes, place a layer of the batter in the bottom of each mold. The batter will not be as firm as refrigerated cookie dough and will still seem a bit sticky. Resist the urge to add flour to the dough! If necessary, wet your fingers slightly to help keep the dough from sticking or use the back of a spoon that has been lightly coated with oil.
Cover with a layer of chopped fruit. Here I used plums, nectarines, and cherry halves.
Place small spoonfuls of the dough on top of the fruit leaving some spaces so the fruit can still be seen.
Top with a bit more fruit ( whole slices look nice!) and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
Alternatives
These fruit tea cakes can easily be made as a larger dessert. You will need about 3 cups of chopped fruit to make an 8 inch tea cake. The dough in this recipe will make an 8 inch cake or approximately 8 small cakes.
I particularly love stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, apricots) in these cakes but raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries will work equally well — they will just give off a bit more juice. Avoid strawberries because they have a very high water content and will make these cakes soggy.
