THB : Peach-Polka-Dot Caramel Cake

The Home Bakers (THB) bake no 21 this week is Plum-Polka-Dot Caramel Cake, chosen by Emily of Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.

I could not find any plums as they are not in season at the moment, have seen some fresh apricots last week, but not today, when I went to the market this morning. There's some boxes of fresh persimmons, but those are rather firm and not fully ripe yet, so I used canned peaches instead.

This coffee cake is baked in a tart pan. There's no leavening used for the batter, and thus it does not rise that much at all. Plums or other stone fruits are cut in half and placed on top of the batter with the cut sides facing up. A streusel topping is made and is scattered all over the top before baking.

I have mixed feelings over this particular 'cake'. The texture of the crumbs are moist and dense. The lovely Emily describes this as similar to shortcake, while Mich says the texture is "bread-like cake". To me, this is like eating thick moist soft waffles! Haha! I think my fellow baking friends must be laughing at my description, but that was the first thing that came to mind when I ate this! 

Overall, the cake itself is very tasty and I like the taste of the nutmeg, makes the cake smells really nice with a hint of spice. The almond streusel is very crunchy and yummy. And the canned apricots, well you can never go wrong with canned or fresh fruits! But that being said, I do not think that I would be making this again soon, this is a nice cake, but it does not quite make it to my list of favourites.

For the full recipe, please visit Emily of Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray and to view other members' bake, drop by The Home Bakers (THB).

We are a group of home bakers who are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, until each recipe from this book has been baked. This is our bake no. 21 and we have 39 recipes more to go. If you are interested to be a member and join in our bakes, you may drop me an email at kitchenflavours@yahoo.com.

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