When a friend shared this recipe and a photo on-line, I thought it looked good! And King Arthur Flour recipes are usually top-notch. So, to the store for some of the special ingredients (almond flour). I had never used almond flour, but as the recipe notes, it gives the cake a buttery, tender quality that is key to its spoonable texture. If you prefer not to use the almond flour (it is a bit pricy!), you can use all-purpose flour but the result will be a more traditional cake-like texture. Other tips from the King Arthur bakers are to use a variety of summer fresh fruits. used strawberries and blueberries. Frozen fruit doesn't work as well as it doesn't respond to maceration (when it sits in the sugar/lemon juice mixture) in the same way that fresh fruit does.
Start the fruit macerating early, then stir the cake batter together quickly just before dinner for a warm, gooey dessert in about 30 minutes. We topped our dessert at home with vanilla yogurt, but when I later made it for a friend we used vanilla ice cream - delicious!
HOT SUMMER SPOON CAKE
Ingredients
Fruit:
2 ½ - 3 cups raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Batter:
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup (King Arthur) all-purpose flour
½ cup (King Arthur) almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk, whole preferred
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 6 pieces
Before baking
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 ° with a rack in the center.
2. To prepare the fruit: in a medium bowl, toss together the berries, sugar, zest, and lemon juice. Let sit until the fruit is glossy and has started to release its juice, at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
3. To make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flours, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla.
5. Place the butter in an 8” square pan or 1 ½ - 2-quart baking dish and put it in the oven to meld; it’ll take 4 – 6 minutes using butter that’s cold from the fridge.
6. Once the butter has melted, swirl it around in the baking dish to it coats the sides, then pour it into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula to thoroughly combine.
7. Add the milk mixture and whisk well to incorporate.
8. Immediately transfer the batter to the warm buttered baking dish, then gently spoon the macerated fruit and its juice over the top. The fruit mixture should cover the batter almost entirely with a few bare spots peeking through.
9. To bake the cake: bake until golden brown and puffed, 30-35 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and serve warm. Whipped cream or ice cream dolloped on top is especially delicious.
11. Storage information: Refrigerate any leftovers, covered, for up to four days.
