« Recipe: Stone Fruit Tea Cake »

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

Adopted from Rustic Fruit Desserts

Yield: 10-12 servings

Tea Cake is not overly sweet and tastes great as an afternoon snack paired with tea or coffee. Neither cake nor tart, this dessert defies description: a fruit filled shortbread perhaps? This dough freezes well and can be pulled out of the freezer on short notice, anytime you have extra fruit on hand. 

Ingredients

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, for the pan

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1 t fine sea salt

1 c granulated sugar

3/4 c (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 eggs

1 T pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 c coursely chopped mixed stone fruit, fresh or frozen

1 T turbino sugar

Instructions

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Using a handheld mixer with beaters, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then add the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and stir just  until a smooth dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a 1 inch-thick disk and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 10 inch round baking pan or tart pan.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat one portion evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the fruit over the dough. Break the remainder of the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and distribute atop the fruit, then sprinkle the turbino sugar over the dessert.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes*, or until lightly golden brown and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.