Frustratingly, I seem to be incapable of writing blog posts when my husband goes away. You would think I’d have more time on my hands (with one less mouth to feed, less washing to do and less picking up of stuff left around the house… hmmm). What I think actually happens is that I go into survival mode, cutting away anything extra that doesn’t fall into the ‘must-do’ category and then upon his return, life miraculously goes back to normal. Anyway, I’m grateful that this trip wasn’t as long as the last one and I can get back into it all again.
This simple tray-bake is somewhere between a cake and a slice and is entirely adaptable to feature whatever fresh fruit is in season at the time. It’s not overly sweet and spices can be changed, nuts can be added, along with a whole host of other flavourings such as vanilla, citrus zest and liqueurs (I’m thinking Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Kirsch etc). Feel free to use your imagination and give it a whirl!
In this version that I made recently, I used fresh plums (from the local farmer’s market) and ground cardamom, which worked a treat for a late autumn afternoon tea.
Seasonal Fresh Fruit Tray Bake | Gather and Graze
Ingredients
- 125g (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter
- 110g (½ Cup) Raw Caster Sugar
- 2 Large Free-Range Eggs
- 150g (1 Cup) Plain Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cardamom*
- 3 Plums (pitted and cut into 8 slices)*
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 28 x 18 cm (11 x 7 inch) slice tin.
In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom in 2 lots and stir until combined.
Using a knife, spread the mixture evenly over the base of the greased slice tin.
Press the sliced plums onto the top of the mixture.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for approx 30 minutes, until golden on top and cooked through.
Allow the tray bake to cool, before slicing into bars. Perfect served with a dollop of either whipped cream or Greek yoghurt.
Notes:
As mentioned above, this tray bake is best adapted to use whatever fruit is in season at the time. Any additional spices should also be adapted to pair well with whichever fruit you choose. A few ideas you may wish to try…
- Fresh Fig and Ginger
- Pear and Cinnamon
- Raspberry (with 1 Tbsp of Grand Marnier mixed into the batter)
- Blueberry and Lime Zest
- Apricot and Slivered Almonds
- Cherry (with 1 Tbsp of Amaretto mixed into the batter)
Gather & Graze 
Love this Margot! I always like recipes that can be varied with the seasons – I have a couple of ripe pears so I’m thinking pear with a touch of Frangelico at the moment…
(I’m also impressed by your shiny tin – I really need some new ones!)
Thanks Beck! Pear and Frangelico sounds perfect to me… perhaps I’ll add that option to my list of suggestions! 🙂
Oh, I do love such cakes! And yours looks lovely, Margot! It also reminds my recipe – I made it with pluns too, but added streusel on the top- yum yum. 😀
You may have a look at my recipe here-
https://milkandbun.com/2014/10/27/spiced-cake-with-plums-and-streusel/
Thank you Mila! Such a lovely variation with the streusel topping… thanks for sharing. 🙂 Hope all is well with you. Cheers, Margot
Great recipe Margot, I have a freezer loaded with poached quinces. This will be my weekend bake, quince and ???
Thanks Sandra! Did you pick up any Alpine walnuts while in Melbourne? Some of those chopped up with the quince would go pretty well!? Perhaps a sprinkling of cinnamon or ginger too? M.xx
Loved the recipe 🙂
Thanks so much, that’s very kind of you to say!
Hey!
Can’t believe I’ve just read your post after such an absence. Is it WordPress that hasn’t notified me of them by email? Anyway, haven’t baked in ages. And can’t imagine getting back into it. Even though I’m almost drooling at the idea of plums and cardamom.
Do hope you’re well!
Great to hear from you Johnny! How have you been? I’ve been back for just over 2 months now… and it’s been so lovely to re-connect with the blogging world, having been absent for such a long period of time. Sorry to hear that the emails haven’t been coming through… perhaps worth un-following and then re-following to see if it makes a difference. Love to hear what you’ve been up to over the past year or two!
Hah, not an awful lot. Is it really that long?
Glad to hear you’re back at the blog. I think emails stopped coming through as I hadn’t logged in to WordPress for a while. Just haven’t kept up with all of you. 🙂
Looks delicious, Margot!
Thanks my friend! 🙂