My mum is a great cook, and she has taught me a lot, and I am sure that is where my interest for food comes from. But when I was an annoying teenager (yes I was!) and mum tried to teach me something, it never worked out very well. We are both control freaks and stubborn, so there was no way she would let me do something advanced, and there was no way I thought it was fun to only peel potatoes. 🙂 But when I moved away from home it worked better. She was always on stand-by when I called with lots of questions about how to cook this and that. And when she realised that I actually could cook a little she let me help. So now when I go home and visit, I get to do more than just peel the potatoes and we actually work well as a team when we’re having a party or a large dinner.

This cake is one that will always remind me of my mother, and the amount of times we have eaten it in the afternoons, still warm from the oven with large helpings of custard. It is a fabulous cake, and I love how crispy it gets on the top when the butter melts down into the cake.

It is extremely versatile, you can make it with apples, pears (like I did), rhubarb, raspberries or whatever you can think of. It is best enjoyed like we did, still warm. Yum!

Mum’s lovely cake, serves 4

2 eggs

200 ml caster sugar

200 ml plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

butter

sugar pearls (or granulated sugar)

fruit of your choice

Beat the eggs and sugar fluffy, mix in the flour and baking powder. Grease a baking dish and pour in the batter. Put the fruit on top and push the pieces down (if you use rhubarb or berries I would put them in the bottom and pour the batter over them). Use a cake slicer or a knife and cut thin pieces of cold butter and place on top of the dish so it is nearly covered. Sprinkle over some sugar pearls or granulated sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes in 175C. Enjoy while it is still warm, with custard or vanilla icecream.