This upside-down apricot, blueberry and blackberry traybake has become something of a seasonal tradition here in Belleau. To be honest it’s so easy to make and so delicious and such a wonderful celebration of these seasonal stoned fruit and berries that I simply have to make it every May and June. I’ve changed it up very slightly since last time with the addition of some wonderful blackberries. These add a burst of colour as well as that wonderful flavour of sunshine.
I picked up the stunning apricots and cherries from our local farm-shop Shaws who have stopped delivering but continue to run their wonderful shop on their farm in Alvingham just outside Louth. Open from 9am till 4pm Tuesday – Saturday.
FOR THE CAKE
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 225g soft unsalted butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 125g self-raising flour (or regular flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder)
- 100g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 large free-range eggs
- zest of 1 lemon
- roughly 9 apricots – halved (longways) and then each half sliced longways so you have 2 large and 2 smaller disks
- 150g blueberries
- 150g blackberries
Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm x 29cm baking tray and pre-heat the oven to 180°C – drizzle the base of the tray with honey and set aside
Finely grate the zest of one lemon into a large bow along with the sugar and beat with an electric whisk for 3 mins to allow the essential oils in the zest to mingle with the sugar. The beat in the butter until pale (roughly 5 mins)
Mix together the almonds, flour and baking powder, and beat some of this into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by 1 egg, then alternate dry ingredients and eggs, beating all the while.
Lay the cut apricots into the base of the tray and then sprinkle over the blueberries and blackberries. Carefully spoon the cake mixture over the fruit and spread out with a spatula or spoon. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until golden on top.
The cake is cooked if a skewer comes out cleanish and the edges of the cake begin to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its tin. When it’s cool, invert the cake onto a tray or chopping board and slice into squares to serve.
For more cake recipes, check these out on Dom in the Kitchen.
Eat and of course, enjoy!
A American commenting here, and I have no problem using an app to convert cm to inches. Would you please check on the baking pan size shown in the recipe? I want to find something similar to use in my own collection of pans, but 23cm by 9cm seems a little off based on the photo of this deliciousness!
It’s 23 x 29!!! Sorry. My typo.
In place of the ground almonds, can I use almond flour?
I think it’s the same thing but I’d say yes!
I need to make this beautiful dessert but free. Is it okay to leave out the ground almonds and substitute it for all purpose flour?
yes! Just sub the ground almonds for the flour, same weight.