Sorry about the dead email link yesterday – user error on my part!
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In one of the episodes of River Cottage Autumn, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall bakes a delicious pear syrup tea cake.
It was such an easy recipe that I didn’t even have to write it down. It’s a variation on a pound cake, and it occurred to me that it could probably be topped with all sorts of different fruits and syrups. Here’s the formula I used for the base (I reduced the butter a bit as 300g seemed excessive, and added vanilla):
- 250g unsalted butter, soft but not melted
- 200g caster (superfine) sugar (edit 8/6: reduced from the original 250g)
- 4 large free range eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
- 150g self-raising flour
- 150g almond meal
I topped the cake with:
- 200g frozen raspberries, defrosted
- Pete’s quince jelly
1. Preheat oven to 160C with fan and line a baking tray with parchment paper (I used a rectangular 30cm x 23cm / 12″x9″ pan, but Hugh used a large round baking tin).
2. Beat the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined, stirring in a spoonful of the flour if required to stop the batter from splitting. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
3. Stir or sift the flour and almond meal together, then fold through the batter. Scrape batter into the prepared tray and top with the fruit. Heat the quince jelly briefly in the microwave to melt it, then drizzle over the top of the cake.
4. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until a fine skewer inserted into a non-fruity bit comes out clean – the baking time will vary depending on the shape of the tin used and the depth of the batter.
This recipe can be easily adapted to use up leftover jams and fruits.
I uncovered an old bottle of ginger syrup in the fridge, as well as a jar of fig jam that Moo had sent us, and tried drizzling and dolloping both over the top of our next cake in place of the raspberries and quince jelly…
It was gingery, tender and deliciously sweet. It was a bit too sweet for Pete, but I found it perfect with a hot cup of tea (in later attempts, I reduced the sugar from 250g to 200g – recipe has been amended accordingly).
The very yellow crumb is a result of our backyard eggs – the girls have been feasting on rainbow chard lately, which seems to supercharge their yolks. Little bits of glacé ginger and fig glistened like encased jewels…
The variations on this recipe are endless – I’m sure we have old jars of rhubarb and berry jams lurking in the pantry, and sour cherries in the freezer, both of which would be perfect for this recipe. In its original incarnation, Hugh cooked down peeled pears in syrup and used both on his cake. It’s the perfect recipe to have up our sleeve for an emergency bake!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I have tons of quince jelly. Putting on my list. Tree is in bloom today!
Mo, your tree is huge – for some reason I always thought quinces grew on small shrubs.. :)
This is my go-to cake recipe. I make it all the time in a springform pan. I’ve done it with toffee pears and also added chocolate then served with strawberries and whipped cream. Great to see your version. The ginger sound divine. Hugs, Maz.
Maz, your version sounds fantastic! Toffee pears and chocolate – great combo! :)
My kind of cake and I have some quince jelly left over from the glut we had in the autumn in Andalucia!
Chica, it’s sooo easy! I’m going to raid the pantry today and see what leftover jams we have.
Looks wonderful…wonder if it would with gluten-free flour…almost seems like it might. Thanks for sharing!
Laila, I think it might work with a good gf self-raising flour?
A beautiful yellow cake. Could I grind almonds for almond meal? I have lots of jams and pie fillings; and huckleberries in the freezer!
Manuela, I reckon you can, just make sure you grind them up quite finely. I grind my almonds and hazelnuts for amaretti cookies, and it works well.
This seems like such a great, adaptable recipe. While I love anything that involves raspberries, and will definitely be trying this specific combo out, it seems like a great cake for all kinds of great combos.
Thank you – that’s what I really like about it too! I love the idea that I can find some old jam in the pantry and turn it into a cake! :)
One word. Scrumptious!
Thanks! :)
i love a recipe like this one celia..the yellow in your cake is gorgeous..it makes me want some hens badly..x
Jane, I so wish you could have them, they make us so happy! :)
Yum!!!! Sounds delicious.
Christina
Thank you! It was! :)
Pound cake was the first one I ever made as I had learnt the ratios off by heart! Wonderful recipe indeed Celia, and the yellow is so gorgeous too :) Hugh is such a great bloke, I really enjoyed his series when he went vegetarian,have you seen that one yet? Xox
Becca, I have seen that one! I think my favourite is still his Everyday series, although we’ve watched them all obsessively!
I logged on to check the times for my sourdough and came across this picture. My first word YUM. It looks delicious.Enjoy your morning tea Celia:)
Jody, hope the sourdough went well! :) How’s the uni work going? Nearly done? :)
Oh, Celia my bread never looks as good as yours. I’m going to try making some wholemeal loaves and see if that works. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I’ll keep trying and I’m being very lazy about uni. There’s only one assignment left for this semester and l keep putting it off. It has to be submitted by Saturday so l have to just do it.’)
Jody, don’t be disheartened, it’s just practice, honestly. And failed loaves are always a step up the learning ladder – corny as that sounds. :) Email me if I can help x
Thanks Celia:)
yum, this looks seriously delicious. A great way to use up some left over stewed fruit too I would think :-)
Leah, I think so too! The cooking temp seems right too – nothing burnt on top..
Would love to try this with my quince jelly( spiked with grand Marnier!) but not sure how much to use?
Penny, the best I can offer you is “some”. :) I had leftover quince jelly in a bowl and heated it up – just eyeball it when you drizzle it over. Maybe start with 1/4 cup – you can always add more if it doesn’t look like enough?
I love a basic cake recipe that I can tweak depending upon my mood and what’s in season. This looks a little more special than most, with the almond meal added.
Amanda, we love cakes with almond meal in them! Btw, was just telling my friend Moo that Costco is opening in Kilburn SA soon, but I’m sure you knew that! :)
How easy and it must taste wonderful with the raspberries and that famous quince jelly.
Thanks M! It’s certainly famous in our house.. :)
This looks scrumptious! It is always nice to have a versatile recipe, so many variations it seems new each time.
Thank you! It was great fun to bake – rummaging through the pantry later this morning to see what old jams we have! :)
Yum. My favourite kind of cake to make, and eat, which sort of evolved for me from a plain butter cake which I could spruce up with leftover jam or fruit to adding the almond meal initially to use it up, then because I liked the texture and less flour. And yes, always have the ingredients on hand for emergency baking, either for visitors or simply those I Need Cake moments.
ED, the “I NEED CAKE” moments seem to increase during winter, don’t they? Not that we’ve had much of a winter here yet.. :)
Oh my goodness Celia… this sounds absolutely divine!
Lizzy, it was easy and fun! :)
Nice bit of enamelware there Celia ;-) is there anything that stuff isn’t good for?
As I said Brydie, you convinced me! I’ve been using their pie tins for years, but this is the first time I’ve bought their baking pans, and they’re fabulous!
I could go a piece of cake and nice cup of tea. Lovely easy recipe Ceila.
Have a wonderful weekend.
:-) Mandy xo
Now wouldn’t that be lovely, Mandy? You could come over for a cup of tea and cake, and we could talk about whale bones.. :)
Oh that would be lovely! :-)
I bet they disappeared in a flash too! Great idea to use up extra fruit and jams :)
It didn’t last long! :) Thanks love x
Seriously LOVE Hugh… I dream about doing what he has done! :-) and I remember this recipe, so now I’m going to make it!
Liz, I’m a bit smitten with him as well! His pear version of this looked divine…
quince and rasbperry sounds like such a good combination – I still have half a jar of my mum’s quince jelly but she makes much less than she used to so I am not sure I could use it this way but I don’t eat jam so much that I would much prefer to eat it this way – oh so tempted
Hahaha…sorry Johanna, understand your dilemma! Quince jelly and cheese is delish as well! :)
Actually we do eat quince jelly and cheese quite a lot. But I have made a plum and quince jelly cake based on this recipe – loved it – thanks celia – http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/plum-teacake-with-quince-jelly-glaze.html
Looks soft and moist, Celia! This goes for an afternoon tea when you just want something that’s not overpowering or too heavy. I and my mum would love to have this together :).
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie, it’s such an easy cake to assemble, and baking it in a pan makes it feel less fussy, if that makes sense…
Too delicious.
Come over for a piece.. :)
Looks delish Celia. I wonder if anyone ever finishes those half jars other than by doing this? We all have them!
Jo, I make jammy dodgers as well… :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/02/03/pammys-jammy-dodgers/
This sounds like a great base recipe! I have a heap of poached quinces that I’ve been meaning to bake with, so I think I’ll have to give this one a go. Thanks for sharing.
Clare, I think this would be fantastic with cooked quinces! :)
I love how adaptable this recipe is!
Thanks Tandy, so do I! :)
I did wonder what had happened to your post! I do love how brilliantly yellow your cake is and it’s great to know it’s all naturally caused by your super-fed chickens. I do think though that it would be helpful if Hugh shortened his name – it’s such a mouthful. This is a great use for Pete’s quince paste xx
Charlie, I clicked the wrong button! The chooks are producing the yellowest yolks we’ve ever had! :)
it looks wonderful!
Thank you! :)
I have to remember not to look at your posts before my breakfast…I am so very hungry right…This is so, so very good.
Next time it’s raining and I’m stuck in doors I’ll have to try this.