Fruit Pastry Cake

I remembered I learned to bake this fruit pastry cake about 6 years ago as it was very popularly shared by recipe bloggers then.  A butter cake of light texture with a combination of fruity bites. 

My girl invited 2 friends over for lunch.  Since I have some strawberries and a can of peaches, decided to bake a tray of fruit pastry cake for their afternoon snack.  And it was very well received.

Adapted from recipe source: Happy Homebaking, Anncoo Journal

Pan size : 9-inch round pan or 8-inch square pan
Ingredients:
100g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
200g caster sugar (I cut down to160g)
50g yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest
210g plain flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon baking powder
400-500g fruits and tossed with 2 tablespoon sugar* (I omitted tossing with sugar)
You can use strawberries, peaches, blueberries, peaches, bananas, oranges, pears, apples, pineapple, or any other fruits that are not too juicy.

Method:
1) Grease the sides of an 8-inch square pan with butter or spray. Lightly coat with flour.  Line the base of the pan with lightly greased parchment paper.

2) Combine plain flour and baking powder in a dry clean bowl. Sieve and set aside.

3) Wash and drain the fruits. Cut in slices or chunks and toss with sugar (if desired) and set aside. If using canned fruits, wash the fruits to remove the syrup, drain and pat dry with kitchen towel. Set aside.

4) Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Position the rack in the middle. The temperature of the oven may vary, do adjust the temperature and timing to suit your oven.

5) In a clean mixing bowl, cream together the butter, castor sugar, and yogurt until light and fluffy using an electric mixer on medium speed. Dribble in the eggs gradually and beat till incorporated in the batter. (The mixture may appear slightly curdled.)

6) Add vanilla extract and zest. Mix to combine.

7) Add in the flour in 3 additions, mix till combined and smooth.

8) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with spatula. Tap the pan lightly on a table top a few times to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.

9) Arrange fruits on top, don’t press the fruits down into the batter. Decorate the fruits as desired.

10) Bake in pre-heat oven for 60-70 minutes or until golden brown.
*note: tent it with aluminium foil in the last 15-20 minutes of baking.

11) To check for doneness, insert a skewer or toothpick in the center of the cake if it comes out clean

12) Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 5~10 mins. Unmould and transfer to wire rack to let cool completely.

To serve, dust the cake with some snow powder sugar if you like.

While cooling on rack, the fruity tangy fragrance filled the dining place. Finally! Served the cake and glad that they enjoyed it.

Happy baking!