A one bowl wonder! Adriana’s Everyday Cake comes together in 5 minutes and takes advantage of whatever fresh fruit you have on hand. This is the cake recipe you’ll use again and again — for family dinners or simply elegant occasions. Enjoy this simple, one bowl, so easy to make, light and buttery everyday cake!
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Master the art of quick change
Adriana is my friend. She’s a stylish hairdresser who makes everything she does look effortless. (And we love her anyway : ) One of the things she does particularly well is to bring interesting and delicious things to coffee hour at our church. Week after week she turns up with these amazing European style cakes, always topped with different fruits and nuts and always so, so good.
Fortunately, Adriana is as nice as she is talented so she gave me the recipe. Enjoy this simple, one bowl, so easy to make, light and buttery everyday cake!
adriana’s everyday cake ingredients
You’ll need:
Butter. One stick of unsalted real butter.
Sugar. Granulated sugar will do the trick!
Lemon Juice. Just a teaspoon to brighten the flavor of the fruit.
Almond or Vanilla Extract. I love using almond extract by itself or, even better, in combination with vanilla extract for a more complex and bakery-style taste.
Eggs. Room temperature and local if possible — extra points for blue shells : )
Flour. All purpose, King Arthur brand preferred.
To measure flour properly:
- Fluff up the flour in the bag or bin
- Spoon into a measuring cup
- Level the top with a knife
Baking Powder + Salt. For rise and flavor.
Fresh Fruit. Herein lies (one of the) beauties of this recipe. Use whatever fruit you have lurking about! Plums, peaches, pears and strawberries are particularly nice. You can also mix fruits — what about a lovely pear + blackberry cake?
Coarse Sugar. Always a nice touch, especially if you love crunch as much as I do! Plus it adds a bit of sparkle to your cake.
Chopped Nuts. Optional. It’s fun to pair different nuts with fruits. Try walnuts, pecans, almonds and/or hazelnuts. Chop finely for an elegant cake or coarsely for a more rustic look. For best results, lightly toast the nuts before using.
Nutmeg. One of the tricks to bakery-style flavor. You’re going for subtlety here, so use just a tiny sprinkling, and, if possible, use freshly grated nutmeg.
HINT: a touch of nutmeg is also wonderful in egg/cream dishes, especially nice with Swiss or Gruyere cheeses.
You’ll also need:
Mixing Bowl. Using an 8 cup glass measuring pitcher is the absolute best because it goes in the microwave with no trouble and has a handy pouring spout!
Whisk.
Flexible Spatula.
9″ Round Cake Tin. You can use a 8″ pan if that’s what you have. Just increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Parchment Paper Round. I highly recommend that you buy a pack of these super handy parchment rounds — no messy greasing and flouring of baking pans!
how to make Adriana’s Everyday Cake
-
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Prepare fruit: wash, peel if desired and slice into approximately 1/4″ thick pieces. Set aside.
- In glass mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave.
- Whisk in sugar, then lemon juice and extract(s).
- Whisk in eggs, one at a time, beating well between each.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk til all dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour into baking tin. Arrange the fruit on top of the batter, then sprinkle with nuts, coarse sugar and nutmeg.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly browned around the edges and the middle is slightly firm (not squashy but not hard) and/or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan. Run knife around edge to loosen before removing to serving plate.
- Yields 6-8 servings.
recipe notes
Some nice combinations to get you started:
- Strawberry Almond
- Blackberry Hazelnut
- Plum + Cherries with Pecans
- Banana Walnuts
- Banana + Blueberries with Pecans
- Peaches + Cherries with Almonds
- Kiwi with Macadamia Nuts
2 keys to maximum flavor:
- Adding just a touch of lemon juice brightens and accents the flavor of the fruit. You might also try orange juice or lime juice to vary the recipe from time to time. After all, that’s one of the beauties of this recipe — its adaptability!
- Lightly toast the nuts before using. You can do this in a cast iron skillet or in the oven. I use a toaster oven, and it takes only a couple minutes to toast 2-4 tablespoons of nuts. Whatever method you use, watch closely as the nuts go from nicely browned to burned in the flash of an eye!
to store
Adriana’s Everyday Cake keeps well at room temperature for up to 2 days. Cover the cooled cake with plastic wrap.
Adriana's Everyday Cake
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Flexible spatula
- 9" Round Cake Tin
- Parchment Paper Round
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter ½ cup, 4 ounces
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract or a combination
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup fresh fruit plums, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, pears, etc
- 1 Tbsp coarse sugar
- 2 Tbsp chopped nuts
- freshly ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Prepare fruit: wash, peel if desired and slice into approximately 1/4″ thick pieces. Set aside.
- In glass mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave.
- Whisk in sugar, then lemon juice and extract(s).
- Whisk in eggs, one at a time, beating well between each.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk til all dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour into baking tin. Arrange the fruit on top of the batter, then sprinkle with nuts, coarse sugar and nutmeg.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly browned around the edges and the middle is slightly firm (not squashy but not hard) and/or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan. Run knife around edge to loosen before removing to serving plate.
- Yields 6-8 servings.
Notes
recipe notes
Some nice combinations to get you started:
- Strawberry Almond
- Blackberry Hazelnut
- Plum + Cherries with Pecans
- Banana Walnuts
- Banana + Blueberries with Pecans
- Peaches + Cherries with Almonds
- Kiwi with Macadamia Nuts
2 keys to maximum flavor:
- Adding just a touch of lemon juice brightens and accents the flavor of the fruit. You might also try orange juice or lime juice to vary the recipe from time to time. After all, that's one of the beauties of this recipe -- its adaptability!
- Lightly toast the nuts before using. You can do this in a cast iron skillet or in the oven. I use a toaster oven, and it takes only a couple minutes to toast 2-4 tablespoons of nuts. Whatever method you use, watch closely as the nuts go from nicely browned to burned in the flash of an eye!