tiny happy

One of the best things about moving into a new house must be discovering what comes up in the garden each season. This summer I was most excited to learn that we had our very own peach tree, and when it was time to eat them (just last week) I discovered it was a red-fleshed peach tree. Their extremely unthoughtful common name is 'black-boy peach' and they are a pretty standard fruit tree to have in the garden here in NZ. (you can read more about them in this funny article here).

Anyway, it turns out that these particular peaches from our tree are not that delicious when eaten raw. Maybe they needed more rain over the year or some kind of fertiliser. But they are great for cooking- I made a big batch of peach chutney and did some baking with them and they were gorgeous like that.

Here is the recipe for a versatile sort of cake that I love making for afternoon tea or for a special lunch. It was a recipe that a friend of my mum's gave us when I was little, and i've been making it ever since. She called it 'Norwegian Apple Cake' but I don't remember seeing any cakes like this when I was living in Norway. It's a great recipe all the same.

The best features of this cake are a) I always have the ingredients in the cupboard- it's not fancy at all, but the fruit makes it special, b) you can use any sort of fruit- I've made it with apples, pears, berries and all kinds of stone fruit with great results and c) the mixture is big enough to make two tarts: one large and one small. So you can deliver one to a friend.

Any-kind-of-fruit tart

2 large eggs

150 grams white sugar

100 grams butter

150 mls milk

175 grams flour

3 tsps baking powder

enough sliced fruit to cover the surface fo the tart. (apples, pears, berries, stonefruit, feijoas, etc.)

Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy. Put butter and milk into a saucepan and stir until just boiling. Remove from heat. Sift flour and baking powder into the egg mixture, then pour in the milk mixture. Fold all the ingredients together until smooth. (I use an electric beater for just a minute.)

Pour into a flat-ish dish. I use one medium-sized pie dish, and one small one, lined with baking paper. Arrange the sliced fruit over the top. (You could also sprinkle over a little raw sugar or sliced almonds if you like.) Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 20-30 mins.