Nectarine Cake with Cinnamon-Nut Topping : Free and Easy Bake-Along #8

Together with my baking buddies, Lena and Zoe, we baked this Nectarine Cake for our Free and Easy Bake-Along #8. How does this cake fare? Delicious! I love it!

Gorgeous rosy nectarines.

We are not sure whether it was an error in the sugar ingredient for the topping, at least the three of us thought so! :)  In the ingredient listing, the amount of sugar was listed as 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon, whereas in the instruction for mixing the topping, only calls for 1 tablespoon! We guess that 1 cup of sugar for the topping is way too much! Zoe was the first to bake this, and alerted us on the sweetness even after she reduced the sugar. Thanks, Zoe!

Since I do not like sweet cakes and always reduced the sugar in most recipes, I did as I always do, reduced the sugar, especially after Zoe informed us that it is very sweet! I only use 2 tablespoons for the topping and 80gm for the cake batter. It was perfect for me. The smell is wonderful, the sweet aroma of the cinnamon fills the house when this cake is baking.

The topping is really nice, the walnuts coated with the sugar and cinnamon is so good. The cake balances well with the topping and the soft nectarine, which I left unpeeled.

Overall rating, this is a delicious cake! It did not last long in my house! Baked this in the evening and finished it all by the next morning!

Do drop by Lena of Her Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids to see their version of this cake. For our next Bake-Along, we will be baking Sweet Potato Sandwich Rolls  from King Arthur Flour website, and we will be posting it, on 10/09. 

I'm sharing this with

Bake with Bizzy at Bizzy B. Bakes

Sweets For A Saturday at Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Sweet Tooth Friday at Alli n Son
Cookbook Sundays at Mom's Sunday Cafe

Nectarine Cake with Cinnamon-Nut Topping
(adapted from "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman)
For The Topping :
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (guess this is an error! I only use 2 tablespoons sugar)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped


For The Cake :
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (I use 80gm)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 medium ripe nectarines, halved, pitted and peeled


Make The Topping :

1.  Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease the inside of a 10-inch round springform pan.
2. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar, the cinnamon, and the nuts in a small bowl. Set aside.

Make The Cake :

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Arrange the nectarines, cut side down, on top of the batter. Sprinkle with the topping. Bake the cake until it is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Release the sides of the pan and use a large spatula to slide the cake from the pan bottom to a wire rack. Cool completely, cut into wedges, and serve. (I did have a problem sliding the cake from the pan bottom, so I just let it cool completely in the pan. It turned out fine).
4. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

I would like to wish all my Muslim blogger friends "SELAMAT HARI RAYA ADILFITRI", and everyone "HAPPY HOLIDAYS"

Have a safe 'balik kampung' journey and see you when you get back!

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