Naptime Cake, aka Quick and Easy Fruit and Almond Cake

I recently put a call out on Twitter asking for some quick and easy dessert ideas.  Within five minutes I had about 20 responses giving a wide variety of wonderful ideas.  One of them was my uncle who suggested ice cream with fresh grilled Utah peaches–nothing like family to taunt you with things you don’t have access to!  I actually considered using that idea however, because I happened to have several beautiful ripe peaches from our farmer’s market. 

But then a response came in from Kelsey of @TheNaptimeChef that caught my attention: Rhubarb Almond Cake that was easily customizable with whatever fruit you have on hand and could be made in under an hour (all in the span of naptime)!  I love the flavor of almond paired with fruit and I liked the sound of a quick cake, so I decided to give it a go.  The cake was truly simple to make. I just cut up my peaches into small chunks and spread them on the bottom of my prepared cake pan.

Then I mixed up all the other ingredients and spread the batter over the top of the fruit. 

An extra sprinkling of sugar is the last step before the cake goes into the oven for 40 minutes.  The cake was everything Kelsey promised it would be–quick, easy, and delicious!  And yes, I did make it while the girls were taking a nap.

I just made the cake a second time using frozen berries, this time making a few adjustments (more fruit and added nutmeg). 

It was superb. When my mom sampled the cake she remarked that it reminded her of marzipan (no wonder I love it).  The cake is very moist, with a wonderful almond flavor.  Because of the sprinkling of sugar on top before it goes into the oven, the finished cake has a very slight sugary crust on top.  It is delicious eaten with ice cream, more fresh fruit, or just plain. 

The Fuji family will be eating this cake often in the future.  Not only is it delicious, but I love that you can use whatever fruit happens to be in season.

Adapted from The Naptime Chef

1 1/2 cups fresh fruit chopped into chunks (if using frozen fruit, use the fruit frozen, do not defrost it first, otherwise the fruit gets mushy)
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan. Scatter fruit evenly on the bottom of the pan and set aside.

3. Mix remainder of the ingredients together in a large bowl until fully combined.

4. Spread batter over fruit in cake pan and sprinkle sugar lightly over the top.

5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

* The Mac Attack Roundup is now up over at Life’s a feast!  Go and see the amazing work that all of my Mac Sistah’s did!

* Liz, I do not have an email address for you! Will you email me your snail mail address so I can get your prize in the mail to you? (There’s an email button at the top of the page underneath my header.)  Thanks!

Coming Friday: The Washoku Warriors strike again!