Fresh Mint, Almond and Nectarine Cake with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

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Today I discovered that a nectarine is a type of peach - how bizarre! All along I was convinced that it was a fruit of its own - however, the fact of the matter is that it is still delicious. This cake pays homage to the ever-so tasty fruit, with chunks of warm nectarine dotted throughout the vanilla-speckled batter, along with ribbons of fresh, green mint. It's drizzled in a maple cinnamon glaze, in case you didn't quite get the sugar hit you were looking for from the cake itself.

These flavours work well together as they are the perfect balance of sweetness and freshness. There are also almonds inside and on top of the cake for an additional crunch. It's the perfect late-summer garden party centrepiece, and also goes down well for on humid afternoons alongside jug of peach iced tea. Whichever way you eat it, it's delicious, refreshing, and super summery!

This cake is perfect for when stonefruit is plentiful and you have an abundance of nectarines, peaches, plums, or cherries that you need to use up. Feel free to substitute them as you see fit, although you will need to be more careful with fruits with a high water content e.g. strawberries in order to preserve the integrity of the batter.

INGREDIENTS

FRESH MINT AND NECTARINE CAKE
150g of flour (can be white, spelt, or a gluten-free blend if required)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
75g of ground almonds
75g of almond flakes
1/2 teaspoon of ground vanilla beans
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of coconut oil, melted
1 cup of almond milk
12-16 fresh mint leaves
200g of fresh nectarine chunks

MAPLE CINNAMON GLAZE
1/4 cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground vanilla beans

TOPPINGS
Fresh nectarine, thinly sliced
6-8 fresh mint leaves
Raw almonds, chopped
Pure maple syrup, to drizzle

METHOD

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees fanbake, and line a cake tin with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add in the ground almonds, almond flakes, ground vanilla beans, and sea salt, then stir to combine.
  3. In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil over a low heat. Allow to cool for five or ten minutes before adding in the almond milk. Stir well to combine.
  4. Pour the coconut oil and almond milk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix gently until just combined.
  5. Take your mint leaves and chop them roughly with a knife, then add to the batter and fold in. 
  6. Take your prepared cake tin and scoop the cake batter into it. Dot your nectarine chunks into the batter evenly, then pop in the oven and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.
  7. Once a skewer comes out cleanly and the cake springs back when you touch it, remove it from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes before removing it from its tin and lifting it onto a wire cooling rack.
  8. When almost cool, make your maple cinnamon glaze by stirring together the icing sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla. Drizzle atop the cake, then adorn with your fresh nectarine slices, fresh mint leaves, crushed almonds, and maple syrup.
  9. Serve with dollops of maple-spiked coconut cream, or on its own!