With it’s crispy edges and soft gooey centre, the Spoon Cake, in particular this unstructured fall apart Mixed Berries Spoon Cake can only be served with a spoon. Studded with juicy berries, this is the kind of cake that’s so effortless yet so unbelievably delicious. The kind of unpretentious cake, you serve to close friends and love ones. This pudding like cake takes no time to prepare, however you need to let the berries macerate in a bit of sugar, so you end up with juicy jammy berries.
Summer comes with the abundance of berries and as a topping for spoon cake is a great way to utilise ripe juicy berries. There’s no exotic ingredients in this cake-it’s as simple as a pancake batter with Almond Meal, and if gluten is an issue, you can substitute the flour with gluten free flour. Just make sure to add a teaspoon of baking powder to the dry ingredients. The Almond Meal, results in a nutty delicate crumb adding texture to the cake. It will be one of the easiest and one of the most delicious dessert you can whip up, just like this French Apple Tea Cake.
To give credit where credit is due, I got the idea to make this cake from my daughter. She wanted to make the Apple Tea Cake, but her children ate all the sliced apples,so she topped the cake with a mix of frozen blueberries and raspberries instead. She said it was really good but too messy to slice up. So she served it with a spoon. I was then intrigued to find out from Mr Google that such cakes actually exist and are called Spoon Cakes. So there!
What you need to make Mixed Berries Spoon Cake
- Mixed Berries- I used a punnet each of fresh raspberries,blackberries and blueberries, about 2 1/2 cups in total. If you use larger berries like strawberries, cut them into quarters. Other fruits to use are stone fruits like peaches plums and nectarines, cut up into slices or even figs.
- Fridge/Pantry- Self Raising Flour, Almond flour,Caster Sugar,Vanilla, Egg, Milk,Butter and Lemon. Plus icing sugar for dusting the top.
Easy does it…
- Prepare the fruit topping by combining with a bit of caster sugar, finely grated lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge. Brush baking pan (preferably a 20cm diameter shallow pan or skillet with a bit of the melted butter.
- Combine all the dry ingredients of flour,almond meal, pinch of salt and caster sugar in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour, then add milk, whisked egg vanilla and cooled melted butter into the well. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold it through until just combined. Do not over mix. Place the batter into the prepared pan then smooth out the top.
- Carefully spoon out the macerated berries all over the batter. The topping should almost cover the batter, with bare spots here and there. Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for about 30 minutes or until the edges are a crisp golden. The centre should be just barely set.
- Serve straight away with a side of cream or ice cream.
Mixed Berries Spoon Cake
6
servings10
minutes30
minutesCrispy edged Spoon Cake with Gooey centre and studded with jammy mixed berries
Ingredients
- Fruit Topping
2 1/2 cups of mixed Berries (raspberries,blueberries, halved strawberries or blackberries)
4 tablespoons Caster Sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of half a Lemon
- Cake Batter
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
1/2 cup Self Raising Flour
1/2 cup Almond Meal/Flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup Milk
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
125g Butter,melted and cooled
Directions
- For the Fruit Topping
- Combine grated lemon zest and sugar . Rub together with fingertips. Toss together mixed berries,sugar and zest and lemon juice, mashing some of the berries slightly. Set aside for at least 30 minutes in order for the berries to release moisture.
- For the Cake Batter
- In a mixing bowl, whisk almond meal, flour, sugar, and salt to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients of milk, egg, and vanilla.
- Brush the base and sides of the baking dish with some of the melted butter then pour the rest of the melted butter into the milk egg mix in step 2.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mix from step 1, then add the liquid ingredients to the well. Whisk to combine, then transfer batter to the prepared baking dish. Carefully spoon the fruit mix including the juices all over the top of the batter. The berries should almost cover the batter, with bare spots here and there.
- Bake until puffy and golden about 30 to 35 minutes by which time the edges should be crispy while the middle part is still gooey.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm with a spoon to portion.Serve with a dollop of cream or ice cream.
Notes
- Serve warm with a side of whipped cream or ice cream.
