Annabelle White’s feijoa cake

I have come across this recipe multiple times in food forums and cooking blogs and its popularity suggests that it is a goodie. Annabelle White is a popular TV and radio cook in New Zealand. She has published eight cookbooks and appears regularly on TVNZ’s Breakfast show. This recipe comes from the TVNZ website where you can find more of her recipes.

ANNABELLE WHITE’S FEIJOA CAKE

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 200g white sugar
• 2 eggs – number 6s are fine
• 165g white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 30g ground almonds
• 225g sour cream
• 1 teaspoon almond essence (opt)
• approx 400-500g ripe feijoas – cut in half/thirds
• 1 heaped tablespoon coarse grained sugar (Demerara is ideal)
• a pinch of ground ginger

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C.
2. Line the base of a 9″ (22cm) cake tin with baking paper and anti-stick spray the paper plus the sides.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar very well. Beat in eggs one at a time until well combined, then lastly the essence.
4. Sift dry ingredients over mixture and add at the same time the sour cream and almond meal.
5. Fold in carefully until well combined. (Mixture is quite thick.)
6. Spoon into prepared pan and very lightly press in the cut fruit (cut side up).
7. The fruit should be quite crowded but in a single layer.
8. Sprinkle Demerara sugar/ginger evenly over fruit and put cake into oven and immediately set temperature to a reduced 180°C.
9. Bake for 50 minutes, turn oven off and leave in oven for an hour.
10. Serve warm.

Notes

1. You can use other stoned fruit (plums, peaches, apricots) instead of feijoa and if using fresh figs change the almond essence and use rose water instead. If making it an apple cake – add cinnamon to the Demerara sugar.
2. Freezes well. Cut into portions before freezing.
3. Serve with a “side” of some of the same fruit – poached – and a dollop of either whipped cream or yoghurt.