Hungarian recipes are either lengthy novels or brief notes, assuming that you already know what the cook was thinking. I was already lost with the title. You see there is no exact word in English for sütemény, because the only translation is cake and this isn’t a cake, it’s more like a bread loaf baked in a cake pan. I made this for dessert last night and boy was I disappointed! Mercifully I used only half of the ingredients and a small square pan. We had it hot out of the oven; it was heavy and crumbly. But a few hours later just as I was about to dump it, I noticed a change. As I removed it from the pan, the cake stayed intact, but somehow seemed lighter than it should have been. I sliced into it and this time it made an attractive smooth cut. Only two hours passed and it was a different cake. This bar cake obviously needs to develop before you slice into it. At the end it turned out to be not a cake, but a bar cake shaped tea bread. Come to think of it should be called ‘fresh fruit cake bread’. It holds its shape well, making it perfect for lunchboxes or picnics. I wouldn’t serve it for dessert though; it isn’t THAT light after all. The preparation of course was minimal. I used apricots, but peaches, apples or berries would work equally well. Would I make it again? Yes, just not for dessert.
FRESH FRUIT CAKE BREAD
4 cups apricots
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp fruit fresh
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup oil
1 cup yogurt
3 cups flour
1-1/2 Tbsp baking powder
cooking spray
• Wash apricots, remove stones and slice.
• Place in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/3 cup sugar.
• Sprinkle 2 Tbsp Fruit Fresh on the top.
• Stir gently to coat apricot slices.
• In a bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt and vanilla.
• Add the flour and the baking powder.
• Whisk to combine.
• Spray a rectangular cake pan with cooking spray.
• Pour in the batter and arrange apricots on the top.
• Bake at 375F until the knife inserted in center comes out clean.
• Let bar cake develop for a couple of hours before slicing into it.
