Gluten Free Sticky Spiced Nectarine & Poppy Seed Cake

You've probably worked out by now that I love baking with fruit. It's a win-win situation: delicious and healthy are qualities that every cake should aspire to. My favourite cakes are the ones I can enjoy eating with gusto rather than guilt. The below was made with the first nectarines of the year, and if that isn't cause for celebration then I don't know what is.

By the way, the glitches with the Google comment system seem now to be resolved which means that I can respond to your comments. Do keep writing to me as I love to read them and am happy to reply if I can.

Recipe
Serves 8

Adapted from a recipe given on an old leaflet from the Abel & Cole fruit and veg box company. For similar ones see their cookbook Cooking Outside The Box. Buy the book on Amazon
I've added an extra egg, swopped the lemon in that recipe for an orange and a lime, and added poppy seeds to give a sweet crunchiness to the taste.


Ingredients:
3 nectarines, cored, halved and thinly sliced
4 tsp ground cinnamon
125g gluten-free mix self-raising flour (I use Dove's Farm gluten-free)
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
2 tsps grated orange peel
1 tsp lime juice
100g & 3 tbsps light muscovado sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 eggs

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan oven). Line and butter a 23x7inch tin.

2. Beat the butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add 100g of the sugar and beat until smooth.

3. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then add the orange juice, orange peel, lime juice and poppy seeds. Add the flour and mix until well combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange the nectarine slices on top in concentric circles to cover the top of the cake and press them lightly into the batter.

5. In another bowl combine the cinnamon and the left over 3 tbsps sugar, then sprinkle them evenly over the cake.

6. Bake for approx 1 hour until golden. Let it cool for 10 mins before carefully cutting around the cake and placing it on to a plate. Serve at room temperature with tea, or while still warm with ice cream or cream as a dessert cake. The rose from the garden is an optional extra topping.

An idle tip - for a lighter version of this cake, just swop the light muscovado sugar for caster sugar. This will create a paler cake topping showing off more of the pretty nectarine circles.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Florence and the Machine's album Lungs