a quick and easy cake

In the weekend my husband had a work picnic. Even though the company was providing the bbq, I thought it would be nice to bring a cake. I made this cake using a recipe from Nigel Slater’s book The Kitchen Diaries. I love the way Nigel Slater writes. This book in particular is more of a memoir than a cook book, even though it contains hundreds of recipes. But it is the stories that go with the food that is interesting – his reason for making particular things. Also, the book is about eating in seasons which I think is really important.

Interestingly this pear and blueberry cake is not really that seasonal even though I picked it from May chapter which is the equivalent of our southern hemisphere November. Pears are more autumnal and even though we are heading into berry season we are not quite there yet and the cost of fresh blueberries is prohibitive. So, I used frozen blueberries but fresh pears. This was an incredibly easy cake to make and it tasted really good as well. We obviously had it cold at the picnic, but it would be delicious warm with whipped cream!! You could also use pretty much any fruit on top - a great stand by to whip up for unexpected visitors!!

Last night’s dinner was yummy – fish (gurnard which is my favourite!) spread with a paste of dill and parsley (both from Matakana market), Dijon mustard and lemon juice then flash roasted, with a Greekish salad of cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes (all from the Matakana market!) and olives with a dressing of natural yoghurt (Cyclops is my favourite!!), chopped mint and basil, lemon juice and feta. Lovely and summery and also pretty healthy!!!



Pear and Blueberry cake (Nigel Slater)

130g butter
130g castor sugar
2 eggs
130g flour
1 tsp baking powder
250g blueberries
2 small pears, peeled, cored and diced

· Cream butter and sugar then add eggs, one at a time
· Stir in flour and baking powder
· Spoon into lined 20cm square cake tin. Scatter blueberries and pears over top and sprinkle with some extra sugar
Bake at 180 deg for 45-50 minutes