It's Feijoa Season Again: Part 2

Our Little Miss has been eating through our box of feijoas so quickly, we've had to hold some back. We're not sure how she manages to eat so many without getting a tummy ache! 

Here's the next instalment of Feijoa fabulousness. 

Feijoa and Coconut Shortcake

3/4 cup dark cane sugar
150g butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup thread coconut
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 large feijoas
the juice from half a lemon 
1 tablespoon coffee sugar or any other large granule brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 180deg. C and line a 20cm square baking dish. 

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs one at a time and beat thoroughly after each addition. 

Fold in the coconut, followed by the sifted flour, baking powder and cinnamon. 












Spread two-thirds of the mixture into the baking dish.

Set aside the remainder and prepare the feijoas.

Squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl. 

Peel and slice the feijoas into chunks one at a time. 

Immediately place into the lemon juice to prevent them from browning.  

Spoon the feijoa chunks onto the cake mixture taking care to leave the juice in the bowl. 

Little Miss drank the left over juice and declared it delicious.

Now spoon lumps of the remaining cake mixture over the feijoas. 

Leave gaps in the mixture so the feijoas can be seen. 

Sprinkle over the coffee sugar and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until well risen and a skewer inserted into the mixture comes out clean. 

This is a lovely moist cake that can be eaten alone or with cream or yoghurt. We made this for a get together with our Plunket buddies; then took the remainder up to the farm to share with our family. Happy days!

At last, a great Feijoa Cake!

I'm the first to admit that sometimes a recipe just doesn't turn out the way I intended. My first attempt at formulating a feijoa cake wasn't much to write home. Despite the kind and forgiving assurances of my friends, I just knew I wasn't going to be making that one again. And so, after a little digging in the recipe archive - an old folder I've had since I was a teenager, I found an old apple cake recipe I could convert. I added crystallised ginger for a little zing and walnuts for texture.

Feijoa, Ginger and Walnut Cake
1 cup peeled and sliced feijoa
1 cup caster sugar
120g butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 cup walnuts - sliced
1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup crystallised ginger - finely sliced



Preheat the oven to 180deg. C and line a 20cm round, loose bottom tin with baking paper. 

Place the freshly peeled and sliced feijoas into a bowl and mix in the caster sugar. Leave for a few minutes, then add the melted butter and beaten egg into the feijoa mixture.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir until just mixed. Add the fruit and nuts and gently combine. 

 

Place into the lined tin and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean and the cake is beginning to brown.The cake takes some cooking as the feijoas make it quite a wet mixture.Cool in the tin, then turn out.

No icing is required, but a dusting of icing sugar looks really good.

This cake makes a really good dessert served warm or an afternoon tea cake served cold.

Happy baking!