Butter Cake with Peaches and raspberries
Wonderfully simple, this cake recipe can be adapted to include stone fruits and berries according to the season.
240ml whole milk
60ml crème fraîche
220g unbleached plain flour, plus extra for the tin
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp fleur de sel
115g unsalted butter, plus extra for the tin
150g granulated sugar
1 large egg
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean 2 medium peaches, halved, pitted and thinly sliced
30g fresh raspberries
1-2 tsp vanilla sugar
Preheat the oven to 175°C, gas mark 3. Place a sheet of baking parchment on a cutting board and set a 23cm round cake tin on top. Use a paring knife to trace around the tin to create a parchment circle to fit its base. Butter the cake tin, then place the parchment circle inside. Butter the parchment, then dust the tin with flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and crème fraîche. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate large bowl, use a wooden spoon to cream the butter until soft. Add the granulated sugar and continue creaming until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla seeds (see tip below) and continue creaming until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and the milk mixture, alternating, until smooth and combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Arrange the sliced peaches in an overlapping circular pattern on top, being careful not to let the fruit touch the side of the pan. Arrange the raspberries over and between the peaches.
Sprinkle the cake with vanilla sugar (see below). Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Vanilla beans At The Cook’s Atelier, we prefer to use whole beans and store them in a glass jar filled with vodka. The vodka softens the beans and the alcohol helps to preserve them. Whenever we need vanilla in a recipe, we simply snip the bean in half and squeeze out the seeds.
Vanilla sugar After using a vanilla bean (not one steeped in liquid), we let the pod dry out in an open jar for a few days before adding it to a jar of granulated sugar. As we add more dried vanilla pods to the sugar, it becomes infused with flavour, creating vanilla sugar.