Peach Melba Cake

Pureed fruit makes a great base for a cake. I use it frequently to make vegan cakes but also for other fruit based cakes like this Peach Melba cake, a truly decadent celebration of summer fruits and inspired by the classic Peach Melba dessert named after Dame Nellie Melba

I have three sponge or sandwich tins but the cake can be baked in batches or in a large flat tray and then circles of cake cut out by placing a cake tin on top of the cake and cutting around. Depending on the size of your tray you will get two circles and one patched circle which will become the middle layer.

Here's how

Place the first layer cake on a serving plate.

Spread with a thin layer of jam

Cover the jam with a layer of the whipped cream

Add a few pieces of chopped peach and raspberries.

Repeat with the second layer and the place the final cake layer on top.

If you want the tinted icing remove a small amount of buttercream from the mixture, tint some pink and some pale yellow.

Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream frosting and smooth out.

If using the coloured buttercream place small blobs of each colour randomly over the cake, the sides will be seen more than the top and using a palette knife, cake scraper to smooth and blend the blobs. A wet palette knife makes this easier.

Decorate the top of the cake with the thinly sliced peaches and raspberries, add a few strawberries the green of the stalks adds to the summery feel 

Peach Melba Cake

For Cake

Ingredients

200 g peach puree (prepared peaches, skin and stones removed and then pureed)

3/4 cup yoghurt

1 1/2 cups grapeseed or other neutral flavoured oil

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

2 cups plain flour

1 cup almond meal

3 teaspoons baking powder

Method

Preheat oven to 170 deg C, grease and line base of 3 sandwich/sponge cake tins

Combine peach puree, sugar, yoghurt, oil and baking powder in a bowl and mix well.

Add almond meal and flour, mix gently until just combined.

Spoon the cake batter into the prepared tins. Bake until cakes are set and starting to shrink away from the sides of the tin, approximately 20 minutes.

Leave the cakes in the tins until cool and then turn out onto a cake cooler.

Cream Filling

Ingredients

300 ml cream

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Whipped cream and vanilla until stiff

Optional

1 cup cold extra thick custard or pastry cream added to the whipped cream

 Buttercream Frosting

250 g soft butter

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk or peach liqueur

Beat or cream the butter adding the icing sugar gradually.

 Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk and beat. Check flavour, adding more vanilla if desired.

Add the extra milk for a softer icing.

To Assemble

2 tablespoons peach jam or apricot if peach unavailable

2 -3  sliced yellow peaches, skins removed

1-2 punnets Raspberries

1 punnet strawberries

Optional, pink and yellow food colouring

I prefer to assemble on baking parchment on a flat baking tray, chill the frosted cake and then transfer to a serving plate just before decorating

Place the first layer cake on a serving plate.

Spread with a thin layer of jam

Cover the jam with a layer of the whipped cream

Add a few pieces of chopped peach and raspberries.

Repeat with the second layer and the place the final cake layer on top.

If you want the tinted icing remove a small amount of buttercream from the mixture, tint some pink and some pale yellow.

Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream frosting and smooth out.

If using the coloured buttercream place small blobs of each colour randomly over the cake, the sides will be seen more than the top and using a palette knife, cake scraper to smooth and blend the blobs. A wet palette knife makes this easier.

Decorate the top of the cake with the thinly sliced peaches and raspberries.