This feijoa crumble cake tastes smells like autumn and is a little nostalgic way to share some love. Heady with spices, it is a great way to use up the fallen fruit from your tree. Feijoa’s are native to South America and grow only in a few countries. I know many Kiwi’s love them, but others not so much. My Canadian is still a little confused and an English friend once described them as ‘floral but tart but sweet – it’s confusing’. A difficult taste to describe, but one that I adore. As a kid, I used to go to my friends house and we would sit, gorging ourselves amongst her feijoa trees. I learnt the hard way what too many in one sitting can do to a little tummy. The lesson of restraint was learnt early on.
With restraint in mind, gather your friends and have some afternoon tea. There is something beautifully nostalgic about a crumble cake. Reminiscent of times gone past, I find something really lovely about having a piece, a cuppa and some catch ups with friends. This is a basic recipe where any stewed fruit can be swapped for the feijoa. Apple is traditional but in fact, the roasted late summer stone fruit would be a wonderful addition as well. And aside from tea, this really doesn’t need much else to accompany it. A lick of thickened cream would be generous but isn’t required.
Should you be one of those many Kiwis with a feijoa tree in their backyard, this is a great way to use up excess fruit. I also would recommend scooping the flesh and freezing it. It goes well in smoothies, juices and is an excellent vitamin c boost in the cooler months. But first and foremost, cake.
I believe all birthdays should come with cake – this year my birthday coincided with the Covid-19 lockdown… It was a little tricky to celebrate. This feijoa crumble cake was a beautiful treat as it lasts a few days in a container making it perfect for those families who prefer not to eat a whole cake. It’s just the two of us so it’s lovely to have a cake to pick at over a few days or so.
Ingredients
- 100g unsalted butter
- 75g brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Hvanilla essence
- 2x eggs
- 150g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cups peeled and roughly chopped feijoas
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 degrees then line and grease your cake tin. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir through the vanilla essence. Gently sift in the flour baking powder, cinnamon, cardamon, allspice and ground ginger into the butter mixture. Then mix to combine.
Add the milk and mix to combine before finally added the chopped feijoada and stir through. Pour the batter into a lined cake tin. In a seperate bowl, add the second measure of butter, oats and sugar. Mix together until crumbly and sprinkle on top of the cake batter. Bake in oven for 50-60 minutes or until golden.
For the last 15 minutes, place a little tin foil over the top of the cake to stop the topping from burning.
