Peach on Earth Cake

P E AC H O N EARTH CAKE With Burnt Buttercream

RECIPE & IMAGES FIONA HUGUES

ENOUGH FOR TWO LAYERS 200 grams butter, softened 1 cup golden caster sugar plus 2 tbsp extra 4 free range eggs

2 / 3 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder 200g ground almonds 410g tin of peaches in juice (reserve juice) or any ripe pitted stone fruit, finely chopped zest & juice of a large lemon

BURNT BUTTERCREAM 200g butter 3½ cups Icing sugar milk to soften

Grease and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper.

Pre-heat oven to 160°C fanbake and grease and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Spread the ground almonds in an even layer and toast in the oven to gently lightly brown and become fragrant, stirring a few times. Keep a close eye on them, it should only take 10 minutes or so.

Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice then the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Sift together the flour and baking powder and add along with the cooled toasted ground almonds, carefully folding it all in.

Add the finely chopped fruit and gently fold through. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little curdled – trust me, it will turn out fine. Bake for 50–60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Set aside to cool. FOR THE BURNT BUTTERCREAM

Melt the butter in a pan over medium low heat. Stirring constantly and watching carefully so it doesn’t catch, continue to cook until it foams and then subsides to reveal a glorious golden colour. It will smell amazing and caramelised, at this moment remove the pan from the heat immediately so it doesn’t burn and become bitter, then allow to cool completely.

Place the cooled burnt butter in a stand mixer on medium speed with a paddle attachment (or do it the hardcore way by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon) and gradually add the icing sugar until you have a fluffy mixture. Add a little milk to loosen if needed to get the desired spreading consistency.

FOR THE PEACH SYRUP

Place the reserved peach liquid in a small saucepan over medium heat with 2 tbsp sugar and the lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and reduce until syrupy. Cool.

*If using fresh fruit substitute with two-thirds of a cup of peach nectar or juice.

TO ASSEMBLE

If you are making one cake, carefully cut cake in half horizontally and sandwich with a decent dollop of the burnt buttercream. (Use a discreet bamboo skewer to hold layers together if needed. Poke it through from the top and cut it off level with top of cake.)

Using a spatula, cover the entire cake as best you can in the remaining buttercream and carefully arrange your peach roses, peach slices or edible flowers on the top.

Serve slices with whipped cream or Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of peach syrup over the top along with cups of tea or flutes of sparkling Prosecco.

When gorgeous editor in chief Vicki asked me to create a cake for this 10th birthday issue we were still reeling in the haze of lockdown and the world was forever changed. Back in autumn, when there was no inkling of the global sideswipe that was to come, I had great plans for the year. I still have those plans, but the urgency is less, the gratefulness of still being able to make them more, with family and kinship foremost priorities. So here is my ode to good times ahead, a cake to celebrate a decade of fantastic food stories, and here’s to many treasured peachy time feasts with those we champion and those we love. By lockdown design I’ve used tinned peaches in my recipe, but it will be just as fabulous with ripe fresh stone fruit when they’re in season. Teamed up with toasted ground almonds for an earthy note, burnt butter frosting because I’m happy to smear that sublime stuff over anything, and a drizzle of zingy peach syrup for a touch of pizazz. I’ve crowned her with a fancy bouquet of caramelised fresh yellow and white peach roses here but it’s a bit of fiddly faff to create so feel free to decorate instead with whatever edible blooms you fancy. Here’s to you Nourish. Happy Birthday. X

Prosecco

HENRY FROM PRIMO VINO'S PICK - SOLIGO PROSECCO DOC TREVISO EXTRA DRY Gold Medal Berliner Wine Trophy 2019 and Asia Wine Trophy 2019 This wine has typically lifted Marlborough aromatics and these match with a palate that has finesse and texture. Lovely ripe passionfruit aromas are complemented with green grass and lime notes. The palate is light and fresh with delicious citrus notes and a chalky, crisp finish.

RELAX & ENJOY PARADISE AT TE KOI WITH OUR AWARD WINNING HOSPITALITY

LUXURY CULINARY & VINEYARD ESCAPES | office@tekoithelodge.com

| www.tekoithelodge.com

Our very first edition

Volare have been with us since the start

Celebrating 10 years of Nourish

Wow, 10 years! Where did that time go? When I started Nourish along with then business partner Sheryl Nicholson, I don’t think we really had a plan. While Sheryl was a hugely talented designer and had dabbled in food publications before, my experience had all been from behind a cafe counter or kitchen bench.

What we did want to do, and this is still at the core of Nourish a decade on, is celebrate fresh local flavour. And my goal with each edition is that it’s better than the last and, in this way, we are continually learning and striving to be better.

While being in business for a decade is no mean feat (and for me Nourish is the longest job I have ever had!), the true reward has been the relationships formed with our clients, people who are passionate about what they do and work really hard to build businesses that add so much to our communities. Many of these people I now call good friends, and I realise I am in a privileged position to be able to highlight who they are and what they produce.

In 10 years, I have learnt a lot, but one of the biggest lessons is to surround yourself with amazing people. The Nourish team is a small one but one full of women who are far more talented and creative than me. Ten years ago, I was a jack of all trades, taking pictures, writing stories, selling advertising, mastering Facebook, filing GST… By once doing all these things, I can now value the talent and skill of those that specialise in their field. I now rely on the super talented photographers like Brydie Thompson and Ashlee DeCaires and legends in food writing like Denise Irvine and Liz French. Our recipe writers Emma Galloway, Megan Priscott and Amber Bremner are all amazing chefs. Nikki Crutchley, now a successful crime novelist, has been dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s for over six years and I don’t know what we would do without her attention to detail. And the super talented Sara Cameron brings it all together each quarter with no drama or stress often associated in a deadline-driven environment.

The list above is by no means exhaustive, it just illustrates that while I often get the attention and praise, Nourish really is the result of passion and talent, from our clients through to those that put it together. And then there is you, our reader. To you I thank from the bottom of my heart for your support because without you we would be little more than a dream.

We made it to Bali

Behind the scenes

Award Winning