Buttermilk & apricot crumble cake

When you have a large family and insist on holidaying for as long as your purse will stretch, self-catering is usually what springs to mind. Unfortunately, the word "self-catering" tends to send keen cooks like myself into spasms, only "camping" can get a stronger adverse reaction. Why? Most self-catering accommodations offer little more equipment than you could actually carry with you on a seven-day hike in the mountains - apart from mix-and-match crockery that invariably looks like a veritable graveyard of wedding presents almost a century old, you will invariably find a thin-based and wobbly pot that is barely big enough to cook pasta for one, blunt knives with so many dents you could think it's serrated and a non-stick frying pan with as little coating as a B-list porn star.
So unless the website states something along the lines of "we proud ourselves to provide Sabathier knives, a KitchenAid food processor and a Bron Coucke mandoline in all our kitchenettes", boxing up part of the kitchen will remain a standard exercise before going on holidays. When I packed for the summer this year, under the scrutiny of my husband who thought I was positively going mad, I had to take some kitchen stuff... only the essentials of course: Global knives, garlic press, Le Creuset casserole, large stockpot, one spring-form tin, TriVita frying pan, non-stick baking mats and other bits and bobs (with a weeping eye, I left behind the muffin tins and salad rings, ramekins and of course the ever-growing assortment of plates in my cupboards...) and the Thermomix. The latter probably got me the biggest frowns, but was also the single most used item of them besides the knives: making pesto, cooking risotto, grating parmesan, steaming vegetables... and cakes.

This cake is an absolute doddle to make, delicious and fluffy like you wouldn't believe and making the most of the stone fruit that were in season in the summer. I made this at least once a week, mainly due to the fact that I had already bought the ingredients and couldn't very well take them back home with me... so this is a recipe that developed over the length of our stay and on one of the few rainy days that we had, I even took notes, so I can now share them with you. I mostly used damson plums and apricots, but even apple or pear would work just fine. I particularly like the fact that this cake feels so indulging and comforting, yet only uses a mere half stick of butter and less than a cup of sugar... perfect if you still want to fit into your bathing suit by the end of your vacation!
And despite my husband complaining that he had to go out and buy a roof-top box just so I would drive unused kitchen equipment half-way across Europe, I did end up using most of what I packed - and my better half was also benefitting from it, never mind the initial moaning.

Buttermilk & apricot crumble cake
(makes a 20 - 22 cm round cake)

100 g caster sugar
1 egg
60 g butter (softened)
160 g pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
60 g buttermilk*
300 g washed and chopped apricots (or damson plums, apples etc)

For the topping:
100 g buttermilk*
50 g rolled oats
50 g ground walnuts
1 generous pinch cinnamon
80 g brown sugar

Cream together the butter, caster sugar and egg. Add the flour, baking powder and buttermilk. Pour into a buttered spring-form tin, then lay the fruit on top in one layer.
Combine all the ingredients for the crumble topping and spread over the fruit.
Bake in the pre-heated oven at 200 C (no fan!) for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (you might have fruit on the skwewer, but there shouldn't be any uncooked dough visible).
Leave to cool before serving.

* Due to lack of equipment, I made this cake entirely in my Thermomix, so even the liquid ingredients were weighed, rather than measured.

Comments

[Hillary]

Whoa! That looks extraordinary. Great photos and great flavor combo!!

[Katie]

The cake look scrummy. Very light and fluffy. Your story made me smile, my family always take everything bar the kitchen sink whenever we go on holiday - even chopping boards!

[Meeta]

LOL! Johanna, I know what you're talking about. When we do the self-catering holidays I too take everything - even the kitchen sink ;-) Those frowns you were talking about are well known to me too. It'S a good thing we have a mini van! I just love the sound of this cake. It sounds so moist and yummy!

[David]

I love those kind of cakes-yours looks great!

[ecobabe]

qustion re: the thermomix - do you actually bake the cake in it, or just use it to mix the cake ingredients? I am about to embark on thekitchen renovation and don't know how long I will be without a stove top and an oven and was thinking about investing in a thermomix - otherwise I'm going to have to learn how to bake in my Weber barbeque...

[ecobabe]

Actually after reading your method for baking the cake, it does sound like you still need an oven... Ah what will I do while I wait for my renovations? Can you bake cakes in a Weber?

[Joanna]

Hi Johanna ... I wish I'd had a thermomix to take to the self-catering kitchens we used to rent when the children were small! And my husband would have complained just like yours, and then been pleased to eat the results. What cookery books did you take with you? That's always my biggest decision for holiday cooking!

To answer ecobabe's question, Lakeland sell something called a Remoska, two sizes, which would complement a Thermomix when you don't have a kitchen ... it looks like an electric frying pan, but is much more versatile, and you can use it to bake cakes. And, no, I don't have shares in Lakeland, or Remoska (which is, I think, Czech)

Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com

[johanna]

hillary, thanks, you gotta love apricots and walnuts... best ever!

meeta: a mini-van? why didn't i think of that? and where were you when we decided which car to buy?

david - thanks, coming from a pastry chef, that really means something!

ecobabe, the thermomix is good for chopping, melting, steaming, mixing, and many more thinks, but it doesn't bake. i do make risotto in it, though, and soups, you can steam rice and do all sorts of things. never tried baking a cake in the weber, but that does sound like a fun experiment for next summer! good luck with the renovations ;-)

joanna, i have seen the remoska but always thought to myself that it's just another thing in the kitchen that i am not using... not enough to keep it on the countertop at least. but i know that some people swear by it!

[Deborah]

I know what you mean - my family went to a cabin for Christmas last year and the kitchen supplies were horrible! This cake sounds wonderful!

[Sylvia]

Your story made me laugh,For not say cry.Last year my husband and i rented a lovely cabin whit a wonderful view for the lake and the andes..lovely.. except the kitchen,and I did´t think in take kitchen supplies. :-(
The cake sounds wonderful Do you think if a make the cake whit red fruits,results good,or are so juicy for this kind of recipe?

[The Cooking Ninja]

It happened to us once or twice when we rented a house for winter holidays and they didn't have a lot of equipment in the house that we have to do everything by hand and use a beer jug as tea pot to make tea. My FIL would frown and moan whenever my MIL pack the car with load full of groceries, pots and pans etc for holidays in a rented place.

Your crumble looks super delicious.

[Scott at Realepicurean]

Ok. Best cake I've seen for a long time. I'm a crumble addict so any new way of eating is is great to me!

[johanna]

sylvia, I definitely think you can use red fruits – even if they might make the pastry slightly moister! I am sure it would work with raspberries, blueberries as well… just give it a try, the recipe is really easy!

cooking ninja, thanks! i also served risotto out of a salad bowl and drank champagne from a cheap wine glass... but never mind. memories that will always stay fresh in my mind!

Well thanks, scott, you really should try this one! I only discovered crumbles over here and I like them a lot!

[Amanda]

I feel like there's so much I don't know when I read your blog. I don't have a clue what a thermomix is but will google it. I do totally understand the packing thing though. We borrowed a roof box this Summer, it was great and stopped the usual discussions as to what I'm not allowed to take.
A great cake to justify you packing all your kitchen stuff!

[Jeanne]

Mmm, that looks just heavenly Johanna. The flavours remind me of the apricot strudel we had in the Naschmarkt. As I adore apricots, I'm going to have to give this one a try!

[johanna]

Amanda, the Thermomix is a very special kitchen gadget, produced by a German manufacturer, and only sold via direct distribution, rather than amazon or highstreet shops. It is used extensively in the top kitchens around Europe (Manoir au Quatr Saisons being just one example, they have 5 of them!), but also available to the humble housewife (if her purse stretches). Luckily mine did, or shall I say my husband wanted to compensate for buying a rather useless (in my eyes) gadget for himself ;-)

Their official pages are here: http://www.ukthermomix.com/

jeanne, i'd even lend you my thermomix for this purpose...

[Playful Tartelette]

How I miss my mom's Thermomix. Hers has got to be at least 20-25 years old. She just had to replace parts once! I loved the heating and mixes chocolate for ganche in it. Back to your cake...simply gorgeous!

[Tartelette]

"ganache: obviously.

[Gourmet or Gourmand?]

This reminds me of my frequent trips to visit my mother, who has never been a cook herself. I take it all, mixer, mixing bowls, measuring spoons, waffle iron, you name it.

This cake is right up my alley, I love coffee cakes. I'll give it a try, maybe this weekend!

[Judith]

Ooh, I particularly like how easy and versatile this one is. Your recipes always come out looking fantastic, but I'm afraid I won't be able to replicate, or find ingredients. I know I can do this, and I also like that you gave several fruit suggestions so that I can play around with combinations.

[Carina]

Yummy, this one is really, really good! I love the crumble! :D