Feeling peachy

This cake uses a quick all-in-one method – you don’t have to cream the butter and sugar or add the eggs one by one, but it’s essential your butter is nice and soft for the mixture to blend successfully.

Use any stone fruit in the caramel, but a spring-form tin is non-negotiable.

Peach & caramel cake

Ingredients

For the caramel

175g caster sugar

■

■ 1⁄ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out 2

■ 4 large peaches, halved, stoned

For the cake

■ 150g flour

■ 2 teaspoons baking powder

■ 175g soft butter

■ 175g caster sugar

■ 1⁄ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out 2

■ 4 tablespoons ground almonds

■ 4 eggs, lightly beaten

■ Yoghurt or cream to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Butter and line a 24cm spring-form tin with baking paper.

Place the sugar and vanilla seeds in a heavy-based frying pan (you need a pan with a thick base to prevent the caramel from cooking too quickly).

Add 6 tablespoons of water, then place the pan over low heat and cook, without stirring for 10 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved to create a clear syrup. Increase the heat and boil rapidly – don’t stir it, but carefully swirl the pan as the mixture begins to colour, until it has reached a light mahogany shade. Quickly pour the caramel into the lined tin, then place the peach halves, skin side up, over the caramel.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the soft butter, sugar, vanilla seeds, almonds and beaten eggs. Beat until the mixture is smooth and blended – you can use a hand-held mixer or simply a spatula – then spread the cake batter over the peaches.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until the cake has slightly pulled away from the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool a little, though not completely as the caramel will set. Turn the cake out onto a serving platter and remove the paper. Serve slices warm or at room temperature with yoghurt or cream.

Serves 8