Name: Peach, raspberry and ricotta crumble cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 220 gm sour cream; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 300 gm plain flour (2 cups); 220 gm raw caster sugar (1 cup); 160 gm softened butter; 30 gm almond meal; Finely grated rind of 2 limes; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 eggs; 3 ripe peaches, halved and thinly sliced; 125 gm raspberries, plus extra to serve; 200 gm firm ricotta, coarsely crumbled; For dusting: pure icing sugar, sieved; Vanilla-lime syrup; 330 gm caster sugar (1½ cups); 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped; Juice of 3 limes, finely grated rind of 1½

An impossibly fluffy cake dotted with raspberries, sliced peaches and chunks of ricotta, with a side of chilled syrup to boot. In short, it’s a winner. Be ready to share this cake recipe – everyone will be asking for it.

Ingredients

220 gm sour cream

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

300 gm plain flour (2 cups)

220 gm raw caster sugar (1 cup)

160 gm softened butter

30 gm almond meal

Finely grated rind of 2 limes

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

3 ripe peaches, halved and thinly sliced

125 gm raspberries, plus extra to serve

200 gm firm ricotta, coarsely crumbled

For dusting: pure icing sugar, sieved

Vanilla-lime syrup

330 gm caster sugar (1½ cups)

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

Juice of 3 limes, finely grated rind of 1½

Method

Main

1.Stir sour cream and bicarbonate of soda in a jug to combine and set aside to foam (2-3 minutes; mixture will increase in volume).

2.Preheat oven to 180C. Pulse flour, sugar, butter, almond meal, lime rind, vanilla, baking powder and ½ tsp sea salt in a food processor until crumbly. Transfer 1 cup of mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Add eggs and sour cream mixture to food processor, pulse until just smooth, then spread half in the base of a 20cm square cake tin buttered and lined with baking paper. Scatter with half the peaches, half the raspberries, half the ricotta and one-third of the reserved crumb mixture. Spread remaining sour cream mixture over and smooth top. Scatter with remaining peaches, raspberries, ricotta and crumb mixture and bake until golden and an inserted skewer withdraws clean (1-1¼ hours; cover with foil if cake begins to brown too much). Set aside to cool in tin (15 minutes), turn onto a wire rack to cool completely, then dust with icing sugar. Peach, raspberry and ricotta crumble cake will keep stored in an airtight container for 2 days.

3.Meanwhile, for vanilla-lime syrup, stir sugar, vanilla and 200ml water in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, bring to the boil and cook to infuse (5 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in lime juice and rind, transfer to a jar, set aside to cool and refrigerate to chill.

4.Serve cake with vanilla-lime syrup and extra raspberries.