Tamarillo cake

By Liane Arno

DAMN it – but Catherine was right.  It looks like our tamarillo tree will not last forever.  The poor thing is almost split in two.  It has fruited so well this year – obviously its last gasp. 

​We are just back home now after a month doing our volunteer work in PNG and so are making use of these beautiful days to get out into the garden – and the kitchen.

Are you like us and get a case of needing something sweet to finish off the evening?  Well try this recipe and use up some of the tamarillos.  If you need any pop over to our place and pick some up – we won’t use them all!  The number of tamarillos in the recipe won’t put even a small dint in our haul.

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To start:
Collect around a dozen tamarillos and get rid of the stalks.  At the other end of the stalks cut a cross in the top and pop them into a bowl and pour over with boiling water.  You will find you can peel away the skin really easily.  Then halve the tamarillos.
Preheat oven to 180°C. 
Oil and line a 25cm square baking tray.

Whisk in a bowl the wet stuff:

• 150ml oil (I use olive oil to make this a dairy-free cake – but it also has the effect of making it lighter and fluffier)
• 250ml cream (I use coconut cream for taste – but also to make it dairy free – but you can use normal cream instead)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Combine in another bowl the dry stuff:

• 150g plain flour
• 50g almond flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 150g brown sugar

Then:

• Fold the dry stuff into the wet stuff and pour into the baking dish.  Arrange the tamarillo halves onto the batter as quickly as you can as they start to sink.
• Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of raw sugar and a teaspoon of grated ginger over the top.
• Pop in the oven for about 45 minutes.  

That's it!

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