Sometimes we get a bit snobby about food in tins, but in the case of fruit, we really shouldn’t. Aussie tinned fruit is generally superb – the produce is picked at the peak of its ripeness and canned almost immediately. It doesn’t have the same texture as fresh fruit for eating raw, but it’s perfect for cooking with, and in many cases the quality will be superior to what’s on offer on the shelves of the fruit market.
Better still, the tins last for ages in the pantry and there are always bargains to be had. Like the boxes of SPC peaches I bought at the end of last year – at $10 a dozen, they were an absolute steal compared to the $3.50 each that they sell for at the supermarkets…
And the reason for the discount? The ones I bought don’t have ringpulls on the top like the newer ones do. Otherwise, the tins, and the peaches in them, are in perfect condition. I’d had plans to stock up on a few boxes like a doomsday prepper, but Big Boy has discovered them and is eating a whole tin every three days on his muesli…
At the end of last month, still recovering from the Christmas rush, I thought it might be nice to make a very simple tea cake using the peaches and a little tinned passionfruit…
I made up a batch of our very easy tea cake batter and topped it with the fruit. I could have bought fresh peaches, peeled them, sliced them and poached them, but this was much easier…
Here’s the recipe again to save you the trouble of clicking back and forth. I now use a food processor to make this cake, but it works just as well in the mixer (instructions are here):
- 250g unsalted butter, soft but not melted
- 200g caster (superfine) sugar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
- 150g self-raising flour
- 150g almond meal
- sliced tinned peaches
- tinned passionfruit pulp
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 enamel baking pan).
2. In the large bowl of the food processor, blitz together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and pulse until combined, adding in a spoonful of the flour if required to stop the batter from splitting. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the vanilla and pulse again.
3. Stir or sift the flour and almond meal together, then add to the food processor and pulse until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared tray and top with the peaches, artistically arranged. They will sink into the cake as it bakes. Drizzle over the passionfruit pulp.
4. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until a fine skewer inserted comes out clean. Rotate the tray half way through the baking time if needed. Watch carefully to ensure the seeds on top don’t burn. Allow to rest briefly in the pan before lifting out and cooling completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
I’m pretty sure this would work with most tinned stone fruit (hmm…maybe not lychees). It’s an easy dessert or afternoon tea to pull together from pantry ingredients!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
A delicious looking cake. I like recipes that are fast, easy, and delicious.
Thanks Manuela! It’s a great cake, and we stash any leftovers in the freezer for crumbles! :)
This looks tempting Celia, I think I will make it tomorrow, just as soon as I collect my new enamel roaster from the post office. (:
Woohoo…have fun with your new roaster, Madge! As you know, I love mine!
Looks delicious
Thank you! :)
I love cakes like this – so quick to pull together! Big Man loves tinned peaches and I have a fondness for tinned pears ;) I used to be really snobby about tinned fruit too but where we live in Spain most of our family grow masses of peaches so each year we have a massive bottling session several times throughout the season and then have what are effectively tinned peaches in syrup to last us through the winter!
Tanya, HOME tinned peaches sound amazing!! Yes, this cake is a bit mindless to make, which I adore about it.. :)
This looks simply divine, Celia!
you know I’m always searching for stuff to bring to our department, and I’m pinning you right away.. well, not YOU, but your post.
love it!
Sally, this is the easiest cake, and we make it with frozen berries or just about any fruit in season, as well as tinned peaches. There are SO many tinned peaches here at the moment, you have no idea.. :)
Two of my favorite things in one cake! I love that golden, caramelized look. Yum. And what a score on the peaches! x
Em, it’s possible this blog will be flooded with tinned peaches recipes in the forseeable future. I’ve got boxes stacked up in the cellar like a doomsday prepper! :D
That looks really good, although I’ve never seen tinned passionfruit pulp over here in the UK! I think it would be good with tinned apricots – I find they often have more flavour than imported, under-ripe, fresh fruit.
Suelle, I do think we Aussies are fortunate – not only can we grow passionfruit easily, but we can buy it for tiny prices in tins at the supermarkets. I think it’s because passionfruit is an essential component of any Aussie pavlova! :)
It looks gorgeous!!
Thanks Elaine! :)
PS my Falcon roaster arrived today – yay!!! More bread making this weekend x
Your bread has looked absolutely stunning! :)
Thank you so much, you’re the one that’s made all this happen :) xx
What a lovely cake.
Thank you! :)
If they aren’t already paying you, the Aussie tinned fruit board should be! What a perfect way to highlight the versatility and excellent quality of Aussie tinned fruit Ms Celia. Your cake looks moist, tender and I want to eat it right now. That’s what cakes should be, something that Nigella sneaks out of the pantry at 2am. She would go back at 4am for this one!
Oh wouldn’t that be nice? Maybe they’d pay me in tinned fruit though, and I already have a mountain of boxes under the house! :) I think you’d love this one, Fran! Can you sub the butter for something else? :)
I sure can Ms Celia and I know I will love it :). Maybe you could ask for dried fruit just for a change ;)
Yum Celia, I love this. We eat a lot of tinned fruit. As we only get to the shops once a week or sometimes once a fortnight we always run out of fresh fruit between shopping trips. Tinned peaches are a lifesaver in my opinion!
Jane, if you drive down to Sydney, I’d take you to Southern Cross Supplies. They still have a pallet of boxes out the front! :)
That cake looks wonderful definitely going on the baking list. And so great that you are promoting Australian fruit SPC and the growers down here could definitely do with the support
Emma, every tin we’ve opened has been superb! The last lot went into a crumble, and Big Boy is getting to be a deft hand with a can opener! :)
I just love any cake that uses a food processor. They are wonderful for speeding things up and any way I can get cake quickly is the right way, as far as I’m concerned.
I love the fact the whole lot goes into the dishwasher! ;-)
Bravo Celia! Love this one… such a beautiful cake. I am a huge fan of Australian tinned fruit (and supporting the producers!)… there is always tinned passionfruit in my larder… and I will happily buy tinned peaches, apricots, apple and pineapple whenever I need them (or if fruit is out of season). And sometimes I think the tinned fruit tastes better in some things, like this cake. Indeed, my peach kuchen was made with tinned peaches, even though in the same post I had a wee rant about cooking from scratch. As you say, it’s quicker and easier too. Love it.
Somewhat sadly, the tinned passionfruit is coming from Peru! But I’m grateful we can even buy it, most of the world can’t get passionfruit in a tin, and we only pay a dollar or so for it here. The tinned peaches are fantastic for cooking – we used them in a crumble as well recently! :) xx
So true… I have readers who have never ever tasted passionfruit, so we are indeed lucky! And I’m with you on the peaches… I quite like the Australian pie apple sometimes too. Great if I want to make crumble in a hurry! x
I think I grew up on tinned fruit. It was such a staple in my mother’s pantry. Every dessert was pretty much tinned peaches and ice cream. I heard recently that we no longer have a cannery in Oz. That shocked me. I do love the look of your cake! xx
Is that right, Charlie? I wonder where the peaches we bought were canned then? I’ll have a closer look at the tins..
Was just reading your homemade vanilla extract, do you keep adding vodka to it as you use it or do a new batch once it is all used? Do you store it in a cool cupboard?
I store it in a dark linen cupboard, but I don’t tend to keep refilling the bottles, as I like it really strong and I always seem to have more vanilla beans than I can use! We try to reuse the old beans for other dishes or flavouring sugar. x
Dessert was always tinned fruit, with the only very occasional scoop of ice cream thrown in, when we were growing up Celia. Australian tinned fruit is certainly wonderful and the only imported tins I ever buy is lychee or such, that we don’t produce locally, never pineapple or even tomatoes as our farmers need all our support indeed.
What a great cake, and what a bargain indeed with that price! I could really go for a big slice with a cuppa for afternoon tea please :) xo
Becca, it’s a win win – the fruit is so often better than fresh AND I don’t have to prep it! It was really a huge bargain! :)
This looks like a winner. I am sure a few other canned fruits would suit too. Anything with almond meal and fruit is my kind of cake.
Fra, we’ve made this with frozen berries as well. Here are our earlier posts – it’s a very versatile batter!
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2014/05/30/raspberry-and-quince-jelly-teacake-2/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2014/06/18/passionfruit-and-ginger-cake/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2014/09/22/crumb-cake/
Celia I’ve only recently discovered your wonderful blog and have been reading some of your archives and was very interested in the one on bannetons. I’ve since bought a couple from Albion St but wonder should they be washed before first use or is water not recommended for the material they are made from?
Can’t wait to try that delicious looking cake above.
Kerry, I’ve been using the cane bannetons from Chefs and they’re great quality. In theory, you don’t wash them, just dust them rye flour or fine semolina to stop the dough sticking, then bang and brush them clean afterwards. I *have* on occasions washed them just in water when they’ve got too much stuck to them, but I don’t think that’s recommended. Having said that, they seem fine! :)
That looks like a great one to have up your sleeve – Do you think it would work ok with the juice sort of tinned fruit as I don’t buy the syrup sort these days?
Absolutely! The peaches were in fruit juice! :) xxx
And, its not adding to the plastic load and it supports a desperately in need Aussie agricultural economy. We used do do something similar when camping but I don’t bake much at all now (bread excluded of course!). Pretty Colours :)
And gingerbread houses too! :) Thanks Maree! x
That looks a lovely cake and there is nothing wrong with using Austraiain tinned fruit. It is the same with frozen vegetables. Of course you have to look where they are from but a lot of these are picked and frozen at their peak. Sometimes we are too precious over food. Some days we are rushed, tired, ill and in need of some short cuts. These short cuts do not make the food any less. Make a coffee and enjoy your cake:)
You are so right! I’m all for shortcuts, but draw the line at highly processed foods. Frozen and tinned Aussie fruit and veg are perfect timesavers! As you say, it’s all about reading the labels carefully! :)
Love, love tinned fruit… I love especially when I get to tin/preserve my own… It is a great way of eating out of season… And you cake looks great! Thanks for sharing! Liz xx
Liz, home tinned fruit would be amazing! Pete’s mum had a vacola system growing up, and they always ate tinned preserves! :)
When I grew up in the freezing cold part of the country, if you didn’t eat tinned fruit and veg, you didn’t get much. My mother always preserved her own but we bought plenty too. I love this cake! I’ve got passionfruit in a tin and some peaches so this cake will be mine!
Hooray! I can’t imagine growing up where it was freezing for half of the year would mean that tinned fruit from summer would feel like a bowl of sunshine! :)
That’s a great looking cake & I think for some recipes, tinned fruit is actually better for some reason. I don’t know about your area right now, but our fresh fruit & vegetables are looking as dreary as the landscape.
Di, I so hope the big blizzard has passed and didn’t do too much damage. We’re so fortunate with our climate to get year round fruit and veg (mainly veg)! xx
As a child, I remember being so proud of myself for thinking to put tinned fruit in a basic vanilla cake recipe. All these years later, I still love those kinds of cakes – you’re right, tinned fruit doesn’t deserve a bad reputation at all! This looks delicious :)
Kari, that’s an impressive thing for a child to think of! :)
This looks delicious, and it’s always an added bonus to have something quick and easy to prepare. Have canned our pears in the past and used them to bake as well so this is right up my alley.
Gretchen, this actually started life as a pear cake recipe, so your pears would be perfect for it! :)
Just delicious! Would love a slice with a cup of tea right now! :)
Thank you! :)
That cake looks wonderful. I would just like you to be aware of how much I have had to increase my exercise since I started reading, and cooking from, your blog. I’m sure I’m not the only one 😉
But think of all the really great exercise gear you get to sew as a result, Kim! :D
But then I have to actually exercise! I suppose that would mean I was entitled to more cake 😉
A gorgeous, simple cake – beautifully made!
Thanks Nick! Frugal too! :D
Hubby loves it but I just can’t get into tinned fruit unless it is baked into something. I used to love it as a kid though!
We like it in a trifle too! :)