Recipe
Fruit and almond gelato: the soft almond cake with peaches and cherries that closes out summer in style
Summer means fresh fruit and gelato, and this recipe brings them together without overcomplicating things. It was signed by Michela, the blogger behind Le Torte di Michy, who presented it with a quip about turning the oven on in August: it is worth it. It is a soft almond cake with peaches and cherries, made without butter, born to be served next to a bowl of almond gelato.
Michela's recipe
The ingredients: 2 whole eggs, 120 g sugar, 80 ml corn oil, 120 g flour, 100 g almond flour, half a sachet of baking powder, 50 ml milk, cherries and nectarines, brown sugar as needed.
The method is the kind that scares no one. Work the eggs with the sugar using a hand whisk, add the oil and mix; then in go the flours, sifted with the baking powder, and the milk. Once everything is well combined, the batter goes into a tart tin of about 24 centimetres, decorated with the pitted cherries and the nectarines cut into pieces, and sprinkled with brown sugar. In an oven preheated to 180 degrees, about thirty minutes are enough. The butter-free base and the seasonal fruit make it as suited to an afternoon snack as to a coffee break. Anyone wanting to follow the blogger's other creations will find on her blog the cake column this recipe came from.
The pairing with almond gelato
The article suggested a precise companion for this cake: “Dona Amanda”, an almond gelato rippled with caramelized-almond cream and confetti sweets from Sulmona, a creation of the Gelateria-Pasticceria Millevoglie in Atessa, in the province of Chieti. The logic of the pairing is simple: the almond in the cake and the one in the gelato echo each other, while the baked fruit and the caramelized ripple add two different registers of sweetness. Anyone passing through Abruzzo can look for the original; everyone else can replicate the idea with a good almond gelato from a trusted gelateria, ideally a rippled one. A slice of cake still barely warm, a cold scoop starting to melt on the plate and an August afternoon ahead: the summer combo of the title is all here, and it asks for nothing more.
The almond, queen of the sweet summer
It is no accident that this cake works so well: almonds, peaches and cherries are close relatives. All three fruits belong to the same botanical family, the genus Prunus, and share aromatic notes that echo one another, as anyone knows who has caught the almond scent released by peach stones. The confectionery tradition of southern Italy has worked this affinity for centuries: from Apulian and Sicilian almond milk to almond granita, all the way to the almond pastries that accompany summer. The cultivars have their famous names too, from the Avola almond in Sicily to the Filippo Cea of Toritto in Puglia, prized for their richness in oil and intense aroma. In a cake like this one, almond flour also does a technical job: it retains moisture and keeps the cake soft for longer, making up for the absence of butter.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about the almond and fruit cake
Can the cake be made with other fruit?
Yes, and the most natural substitutions stay within the family: apricots, plums and nectarines behave in the oven like peaches and pair just as well with almond. Berries also work, but they release more juice: better to scatter them over the surface without pushing them in. With very sweet fruit it is worth slightly reducing the brown sugar on top.
How can the fruit be kept from sinking into the batter?
The simplest trick is to arrange the pieces on the surface once the batter is already in the tin, without stirring them in, and not to cut them too small. For extra insurance the fruit can be rolled in a veil of flour before being placed: the dry layer slows its descent during baking. A nicely thick batter, like this one, does most of the work anyway.
Can the cake be made in advance or frozen?
The butter-free base stays soft for two or three days under a cake dome or wrapped in film, at room temperature. It can also be frozen, whole or in slices, well wrapped: it thaws in a couple of hours at room temperature. The fruit on top does lose a little of its shine after the freezer, though, so for an occasion it is best baked fresh the same day.
Which gelato works if almond cannot be found?
Classic crema and fior di latte are the most reliable substitutes: they accompany the baked fruit without covering the cake's almond scent. Those wanting to stay in the nut register can go for a good hazelnut, while a true vanilla-bean gelato adds a warm note that suits peaches and cherries beautifully. What matters is choosing a quality artisanal gelato.