Summer Fruit and Nut cake

This cake was actually the first creation of my baking career.  It's incredible versatile, because you can just change the fruits and the nuts to something else you fancy, and bam! you get a completely different cake.  It's incredibly easy to make, very filling and surprisingly light in calories.  

What we need: 

• 2 cups natural yogurt (I recommend Yeo Valley)
• 4 eggs (large)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 cups brown sugar - use a healthy variety
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 3 cups self raising flour (I recommend McDougalls)
• 2 cups finely chopped cashew nuts*
• 350g raspberries**
• 30g dried cranberries for decoration
• Tiny bit of cinnamon powder. 
• 3 tablespoons baking soda

Let's get baking:

1.) Mix the yogurt, eggs, oil and sugar in a mixing bowl until you get a consistent mixture. Mix the nuts, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla sugar in a different bowl.

2.) Slowly work the dry mix into the wet mix, spoonful by spoonful, stirring frequently, until you mixed them all together and got a sticky, heavy, delicious mixture.

3.) Pour it all into a baking tray (can be any shape) and nicely arrange the respberries  on top - or just pour them over for an eclectic result. Sprinkle the top with a tablespoon of brown sugar to make it crispy.

4.) Preheat oven to 180 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy on its own, while hot or after cooling down.  On indulgent afternoons, I suggest a glass of flavoured Bailey's to go with it.  And no need to eat it all in one go (although tempting) because it's still fresh and bouncy even after a few days, when fridge-cold and eaten with a scoop of vanilla icecream...

Now I did say it was surprisingly light in calories.. I normally put it into a 22cmX30cm baking tray, and slice it into a 3x4 matrix, so we get 12 slices.  Once slice is a generous portion and contains only 255cals.  So its entirely justified to eat two of them.


* Other kinds of nuts can also be used, as well as mixed nuts, just not pistachios.  Brazil nuts go excellently with blackberries, for example
** all other kinds of fruits can be considered, such as blackberries, peaches, or bananas.