PEACH AND CRÈME FRAÎCHE CRUMBLE CAKE (serves 12-16)
METHOD Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas 1 and grease and line a 24cm highsided, loose-bottomed cake tin. To make the cake, place the flour, baking powder and butter in a bowl and rub to form a breadcrumb-like texture. Stir in the sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, crème fraîche, peach schnapps or juice, and purée together, then pour onto the dry mixture and mix to a thick batter.
Pour half into the prepared tin and tap the tin gently to settle the batter. Place the peach halves, cut-side up, onto the batter in concentric circles, then top with the remaining batter, smoothing over the top.
Bake in the centre of the oven for one-and-threequarter hours until golden and risen. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean – if it doesn’t, return the cake to the oven for a further five minutes and repeat. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely.
While the cake cools, make the crumble to go on top. Turn the oven up to 180°C/Gas 4. Place the flour, ground cinnamon and butter in a bowl and rub until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Spread out over a baking sheet and bake for six to eight minutes until golden brown and crispy. Set aside to cool on the baking sheet.
For the topping, whisk the crème fraîche, cream cheese and double cream together, then spread over the cake while it’s still in the tin – this will give you a neat finish. Scatter the crumble over the top to cover the cream, then ease the cake out from the tin.