OK, yes, it is officially fall, but I can't get the fact that you can still find delicious and amazing stone fruit at the farmer's market. Case in point, Tenerelli Orchards who sells at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market. They seriously have the BEST nectarines right now! I always feel so lucky to live in Santa Monica where I have access to the best fruits, veggies and organic local meat. It's really so hard to not spend all our grocery money in a matter of a couple hours. :)
This week I knew I wanted to feature these gorgeous nectarines in a lovely teacake. And what better way than little mini tea cakes?! I baked these in a 12 cup standard muffin/cupcake pan and they came out perfect! I love the size and how it gave each piece a little crunchy crust but still was light and fluffy in the middle. Also using coconut shavings and cream made it the perfect amount of coconuty-ness ( I know that's not a word). Next up I'm going to try a vegan version of this since it already uses minimal eggs and butter.
Couple of tips...
- Splurge for really yummy delicious organic fruit. It really does make a difference in your final product.
- Make sure to not slice your nectarine for the bottom of the pan too thin. Some of mine ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan which is a bummer since you want these beauties to end up on the teacakes!
- Do not skimp on buttering your pan!! Seriously. This is where you need to ensure they don't stick to your pan after turning out.
- I really love making my own vanilla sugar and this adds a little extra finesse when you see the tops of your nectarines with little vanilla bean specs. I highly recommend using vanilla sugar vs. just plain sugar.
- Make sure you use unsweetened coconut cream. It could be too much of a sugar overload if you don't.
- You can easily double the recipe to make 24 teacakes.
Nectarine Coconut Teacakes
Makes 1 Dozen Teacakes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened (56 grams)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (paige or navel)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup coconut cream, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut, unsweetened
- 1 medium sized nectarine, sliced to be slightly thinner than 1/2 inch
- organic vanilla sugar or regular organic sugar (for the pan)
- 1-2 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter (for the pan)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Take your 12-cup muffin/cupcake non-stick pan and butter each of the sections throughly. Make sure to get the sides and bottoms with a nice even coating. From there, take your vanilla sugar (or regular sugar) and sprinkle the bottoms of each section. You don't need to over do it. It's just a light sprinkling to give each cake some nice caramelization.
2. Slice up your nectarine and place a few small pieces on the bottom of each section. usually about 3-4 pieces. Set aside additional slices to add on top of the cake batter. Set aside pan until ready to fill with batter.
3. In a medium bowl, add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and baking soda. Whisk together to incorporate.
4. In a stand mixer bowl, add butter, sugar, salt and orange zest. Using your paddle attachment on your mixer, cream butter, sugar and other ingredients together until it's light and fluffy. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
5. Using a spatula, scrape down the edge of the bowl. With the mixer on, add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
6. Switch your mixer to low. Now, alternating between mixed flours and your coconut cream, add some of your dries and then add some coconut cream, repeat until both have been fully incorporated. Turn off your mixer immediately so you don't overmix. Remove bowl from mixer and add in your shredded coconut. Fold in by hand until just incorporated.
7. Using a cupcake scooper, distribute the batter evenly in each of the sections of the pan. It should fill a little more than 1/2 way. Smooth out the tops of the batter with an offset spatula or spoon. Then add 1-2 slices of nectarines on each cake.
8. Pop them into the oven and bake for about 20 -25 minutes. Rotate at least once after about 14 minutes. Cakes will be done when the tops are slightly springy and golden brown on the edges. You can also try the clean toothpick test but I noticed mine still needed a few minutes even though the toothpick came out clean.
9. Allow teacakes to rest in the pan for about 4 minutes. Then turn the cakes out on a wire rack. If not all of them come out easily then run a thin pairing knife along the edges of the few that seem to be sticking. You can also turn them out very quickly and firmly on a cutting board.
9. Cakes can last at room temp for 4 days but can last longer in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy cakes at room temp.