Peach and amaretti crumble cake

Delicate, crisp pastry with juicy peaches and plenty of almond crumble – it’s hard to resist :). I added Italian amaretti biscuits to the crumble, giving it an intense almond aroma and a lovely crunch. This is a very simple and quick bake, perfect for summer when peaches are at their best, but the almond notes make it just as delicious in the cooler months. It’s best served while still slightly warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Highly recommended!

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:

• 270 g plain flour
• 100 g amaretti biscuits, ground
• 200 g butter, at room temperature
• 80 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract

Place the softened butter, flour, ground amaretti biscuits, sugar and almond extract in a bowl. Rub all the ingredients together with your fingertips until a crumble forms. Set aside. If the crumble seems too wet or greasy, add a little more plain flour.

Line a 25 cm springform tin with baking paper, covering only the base. Sprinkle half of the crumble over the base and gently press it down – do not compact it firmly into the tin. Pre-bake at 180ºC for about 15 minutes, until pale golden.

Ingredients for the peach filling:

• 700 g ripe peaches
• 50 g sugar
• 3 tbsp potato starch
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod
• icing sugar, for dusting
• amaretti biscuits, to decorate

Cut the peaches in half (do not peel), remove the stones and cut into thin wedges. Toss with the sugar and potato starch and leave for 15 minutes. After this time, drain off the juice – you won’t need it – and mix the peaches with the vanilla. Spread the prepared peaches evenly over the pre-baked base, then sprinkle the remaining crumble over the top.

Bake the peach cake at 180ºC for about 45 minutes, until golden and the crumble is baked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Before serving, dust the peach and amaretti crumble cake with icing sugar and decorate with extra amaretti biscuits.

Enjoy!