Whether you serve it as dessert with a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream, or serve it with a cup of tea, this gorgeously scented cake makes the perfect centrepiece. Deceptively easy to make, it has a light sponge floating beneath a sticky fruit topping, and is very, very moreish! Just as well it uses low-sugar, high fruit content jam making it a real calorie pleaser too at just 319 per slice.
Spiced Pear and Apricot Frangipane Cake
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
5 juniper berries, bruised with the back of a knife
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 cloves
4 tbsp Streamline apricot jam
3-4 pears depending on their size, peeled cored & sliced (we used Blush pears)
150g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
crème fraîche to serve
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas 4. Grease the bottom of a 9 inch spring form tin and line with greaseproof paper. Heat the juniper, cinnamon and cloves with the apricot jam in a pan then add the pear slices and cook gently for 5 minutes until they are soft but not broken up. Set aside to cool.
2. Whisk together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then whisk in the eggs one at a time. Use a large metal spoon to fold in the almonds, flour and baking powder.
3. Pick the spices out of the pear juices and discard. Arrange the pear slices in the bottom of the tin along with just 2 tablespoons of the juices. Pour over the cake batter and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and the cake springs back when you touch the top.
4. Take out of the oven and cool for 15 minutes then turn out onto a serving plate and peel off the greaseproof paper. Reheat the remaining pear juices and drizzle over. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of crème fraîche.
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Spiced Pear and Apricot Frangipane Cake
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
5 juniper berries, bruised with the back of a knife
1 tsp ground cinnamon
5 cloves
4 tbsp Streamline apricot jam
3-4 pears depending on their size, peeled cored & sliced (we used Blush pears)
150g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
crème fraîche to serve
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas 4. Grease the bottom of a 9 inch spring form tin and line with greaseproof paper. Heat the juniper, cinnamon and cloves with the apricot jam in a pan then add the pear slices and cook gently for 5 minutes until they are soft but not broken up. Set aside to cool.
2. Whisk together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy, then whisk in the eggs one at a time. Use a large metal spoon to fold in the almonds, flour and baking powder.
3. Pick the spices out of the pear juices and discard. Arrange the pear slices in the bottom of the tin along with just 2 tablespoons of the juices. Pour over the cake batter and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until cooked through and the cake springs back when you touch the top.
4. Take out of the oven and cool for 15 minutes then turn out onto a serving plate and peel off the greaseproof paper. Reheat the remaining pear juices and drizzle over. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of crème fraîche.
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Recipe courtesy of www.streamlinefoods.co.uk