This cake should become a basic in your home like it is in mine. You can make so many variations that it's great in summer or winter, hot or cold. Freshly poached peaches or pears would be divine, but failing this, canned fruit is just as good.

Ingredients

• 175 grams butter
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• grated rind 3 lemons and oranges
• 8 poached plums or 425 grams plums (halved and stoned)

Topping

• 1¼ cups flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 125 grams butter
• 1 teaspoon spice (ground ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice or cardamom)

Method

1. In a food processor, put the butter, caster sugar and eggs and process until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, citrus rind and pulse to blend.
2. Spread into the base of a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Arrange the fruit on top.
3. Rub together the flour, brown sugar, butter and spice until the mixture resembles crumbs, then sprinkle over the top of the fruit.
4. Bake at 180ºC for 1¼ hours. Stand in the tin for 10 minutes before removing the sides and transferring to a cake plate. Serve with whipped cream.

Cooks Tips

- If you wish to serve Fruit Crumble Cake as a dessert, use on of these ideas to accompany, custard with orange rind; sweetened cream flavoured with vanilla and served warm; or yoghurt in the same flavour as the fruit and mixed half and half with whipped cream.

Variations: The following fruit and spice combinations are matches made in heaven. Plums and Cloves ; Peaches with Cinnamon ; Apricots with Cardamom ; Banana or Pear with Ginger ; Apple with Cloves or Mixed Spice.