#Contains organic eggs.
It seems unfathomable that Christmas is nearly here once again.. And this year I will be flying north to NSW, to the heat, to the humidity and of course to family and friends to celebrate. After spending two Christmases apart, it will be lovely to be together again.
One of the things I loved most about Christmas time with mum, was sitting down together with all of our cookbooks, and over a cup of tea and lots of laughs would come up with a plan of what to cook for our Christmas eve celebrations.
We would cook during the day of Christmas eve, waiting for family members to arrive from their various travels.
The smells from the kitchen, the sound of everyone chatting, togetherness and love filling mum’s kitchen.
Mum started the tradition of celebrating Christmas eve instead of Christmas day when we were kids, she followed what some European families do..
I’ve continued the tradition and it feels good, and right and lovely to uphold a family tradition and pass it on to my little one. Plus it’s lovely to just have Christmas day to relax after opening presents and a delicious breakfast.
This cake does have a few elements with the three different layers, but they’re fairly straight forward so don’t be nervous. It would actually be great in winter too, maybe with apples or pears instead of summer berries.
Crumble of all kinds have been a long time favourite, stretching back to childhood. So this cake with its crumble topping and almond cake base, warm cooked berries in the middle, is the perfect alternative to a full crumble. It’s quite filling and goes great with vanilla coconut ice cream or coconut yoghurt. Or just as it is with a cuppa.
Here’s to however you celebrate Christmas (if you do). And may the season be filled with all good things; love, food, laughter and togetherness and of course memories.
Here’s the recipe
Enjoy!
Cherry Berry Crumble Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake layer
- 2 medium Eggs, organic and free range if possible
- ⅓ cup Coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract or powder
- ½ medium zest of a lemon
- ⅓ cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1½ cups Almond meal
- ½ tsp baking powder
For the fruit layer
- ½ cup Cherries, de-pitted and roughly chopped
- 1 cup Strawberries, de-stemmed and sliced
- 1 tbsp Arrowroot powder
- 1 tbsp Rice syrup or honey
For the crumble top layer
- 1 cup Rolled oats (gluten free if possible)
- 1 tbsp Almond meal
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup Coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees cGrease and line a round springform cake tin, use coconut oil to grease
For the cake layer
- In a small saucepan melt the coconut oil on a medium to low heat, set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add in the lemon zest, melted coconut oil, almond meal and baking powder. Mix well to combine.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin, smooth and flatten out the mixture and set aside. **Note; Don't worry that the cake mix doesn't look like very much, it is just the bottom layer of the whole cake.
For the Cherry berry layer
- Add the de-pitted cherries and de-stemmed and sliced strawberries to a bowl, add rice syrup and arrowroot powder, mix to coat the fruit.
- Pour the fruit mix onto the cake batter in the tin and spread out evenly.
For the Crumble Top layer
- Add the oats, almond meal, salt, cinnamon and sugar to a medium bowl, mix well to combine
- Add the melted coconut oil and mix until well coated.
- Pour the crumble mix onto the fruit layer, spread out evenly until the fruit layer is covered.
- Place into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Serve with coconut ice cream or yoghurt and a cup of tea!
