A Glorious Harvest
“On a winter evening Adam looked up from his account book. It’s nice in California, he said. It’s nice in the winter. And you can raise anything there.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
Kiwi harvest time in California is December. Who knew? Kiwis are grown locally north of Santa Cruz along the coast at Swanton Farms. Athena, her daughter, Mr. R and I set off to discover how kiwis are grown and harvested. We drove north along the coast highway past Santa Cruz and stopped at Swanton Berry Farm’s main location to inquire about their kiwi harvest. It was the first week in December with sunflowers in full bloom, and strawberries still being harvested. The morning was clear and bright with promise of a glorious sunny December afternoon. It’s quite enchanting; the Pacific Ocean is on one side of the two lane highway and Swanton Farm is on the other. We drove north along the coast for another ten minutes arriving at the kiwi farm. With a borrowed Red Flyer wagon loaded with harvesting buckets we set out for the kiwi orchard walking past oak trees covered in moss and naked berry vines, gone dormant for the winter. With curious anticipation we walked up the hill to the kiwi orchard seeing rows of well manicured vines hidden under a blanket of dense broad leaves. Ducking under the canopy of leaves we entered another world carpeted with giant kiwi leaves still moist from the coastal fog. The thick gnarled kiwi trunks twisted up and across the trellis making a roof for us to duck under. At first we didn’t see the kiwi fruit. As we became accustomed to the light in the tunnel of vines we saw the fuzzy brown orbs dangling in clusters like huge grapes, just waiting for us to pick.
Essentials
The freshly harvested kiwis took a month to ripen. I had great intentions of cooking with them for the holidays, but they only began to ripen after Christmas. Five weeks after harvest some of them remain rock hard. This terrific little cake celebrates the delicate floral taste of the kiwi without being overpowered by a rich batter or any competing flavors. With only a half cup of oil, a touch of citrus zest and vanilla to compliment the kiwi it is a light indulgence for the post holiday season. Since kiwi is very moist, I dried the fruit for the topping prior to making the cake. Other than that additional step, this cake is an easy and a sumptuous winter delight. Use kiwis that are firm but give just a bit when squeezed lightly. If your kiwis have turned mushy, it’s time to throw them away.
| Ingredients |
|
| For one 8″ round cake pan and 2 mini loaf pans | |
| 3 C | all purpose flour |
| 2 t | baking powder |
| 1 t | baking soda |
| 1 t | salt |
| 1/2 C | grape seed oil or canola oil |
| 1 C | sugar |
| 2 | eggs |
| 1 t | vanilla |
| zest | of one lemon, reserve juice for glaze |
| zest | of one lime, reserve juice for glaze |
| 2 C | peeled and finely chopped ripe kiwi fruit |
| For the cake topping | |
| 2-3 | kiwi peeled and sliced 1/4” thick |
| 1/2 C | sugar |
| 1/2 C | water |
| 1/3 C | toasted and chopped pistachios |
| Glaze | |
| 1 C | powdered sugar |
| juice | from the lemon and lime |
- Preheat oven to 200°. Line a baking sheet pan with a Sil Pat or parchment, set aside.
- Prepare the fruit for the top of the cake: In a small saucepan prepare a simple syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a boil while stirring the mixture. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Then remove from heat. Dip the kiwi slices in the simple syrup and place on the sheet pan. Dry the kiwi in the oven for at least 30 minutes. After fifteen minutes turn the kiwi and with a paper towel mop up any accumulated liquid. After 30 minutes remove from the oven and pat the fruit dry, set aside to cool. Turn the oven temperature to 350°.
- Meanwhile prepare the baking pans: Grease and flour the baking pans, set aside. I added a greased and floured layer of parchment to the 8” round pan, but not the mini loaf pans. All the cakes easily released from their baking pans.
- Prepare the dry ingredients for the cake: Into a medium size mixing bowl sift or shake through a large sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set aside.
- Prepare the cake batter: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together the oil and sugar. Add the eggs one a time until the wet ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Mix in the zests and vanilla extract. Remove bowl from the stand mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl to insure all the wet ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Then fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do not over mix. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the mixer bowl again. The batter will be dry until the kiwi is added. Gently fold in the chopped kiwi.
- Baking the cakes: Arrange the cooled kiwi slices in a single layer in the bottom of the 8” pan in a visually pleasing pattern. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios around the kiwi slices. Carefully scoop batter into the 8”pan over the arranged kiwi slices, filling the pan 2/3 full. Use the remaining batter to fill the mini loaf pans. Bake for 30-45 minutes, placing the mini loaf pans in the oven last. The mini loafs will be done first, check them after 25 minutes. When done, a cake tester will come out clean and the cake will have pulled away from the sides of the pan and be light brown around the edges. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Release the cake from the pan, by running a kitchen knife around the edge of the cake. Then invert the cakes onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- To finish: Make a glaze for the cakes by mixing the lemon and lime juice into the powdered sugar. Start with a tablespoon of each, adding just enough juice to make a thin glaze that will lightly coat the back of a spoon. Place the cooling rack with the cakes over a sheet pan or piece of parchment then drizzle the glaze over the cakes.
What gorgeous views… and the cake is to eat a big slice and come for more!!!! Happy weekend, my dear Deb!
Thank you Denise! I appreciate your scrumptious comment!
I just made this cake and it I would definitely make this again if I have the kiwis! I modified the recipe a bit. Only had lemon so I used lemon zest, I baked it in a cast iron, The kiwis layered on the bottom didnt look pretty, so I left them at the bottom and they tasted good. I also took all the chopped kiwi which was very tart and stirred the fruit with remaining simple syrup before adding it to the batter. I added a little sour cream because I had it. Thank you for the recipe!
Alissa thank you for taking the time to comment on your experience making the Kiwi Cake! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! The kiwis I used were very sweet and moist and I wanted to feature them on top of the finished cake. Although an extra step, drying the kiwi in the oven allowed me to do so without compromising the integrity of the underlying cake.
Thank you for commenting!
I tried the cake part of the recipe with tiny modifications… And was really really happy with the result. Yummies! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake Hayley!
The photos are absolutely gorgeous and I love the sound of the kiwi cake with pistachios – green and gorgeous
Thank you so much, I very much appreciate the positive comments!
I so envy you! Kiwi Picking? I wish I can experience that…. Kiwi is supposed to be full of wonderful minerals and vitamins and the best part is, they taste delicious too. This cake has to be your original creation! I have never seen anything quite like this before….
We had a great adventure traveling north up the coast to the kiwi orchard! And yes, I developed the Kiwi Cake recipe, as I couldn’t find any others and wanted to make a kiwi dessert. Enjoy!
Your kiwi cake looks so delicious! I’ve never thought to make a cake with kiwi, but I may have to try your recipe soon. Thanks for the recipe!
The Kiwi Cake is a terrific way the enjoy the luscious ripe fruit. Have fun baking!
I’ve never come across a kiwi cake -so unique! Your posts are always so informative: had no idea that kiwis are so stubborn to ripen. I must admit to a bit of jealousy from over here in gloomy old Blighty while we are facing an eminent Siberian blast. Sounds like a great little trip. Thanks for the lovely recipe too, with bonus pistachios.
We are still basking in sunshine, but without some winter rain here and snow in the Sierra Nevada’s it will end up a very dry year. So glad you enjoyed the Kiwi Cake Kellie, I found it delightful.
Deb….what an absolutely unique and beautiful cake!!! I love kiwis. But I’ve never done much with them beyond slicing and eating or using them as some sort of garnish! What a great post to show us how they are grown and harvested! (I want to move to California!!!) Honestly….this cake looks simply amazing and one that is being bumped up on my to do list! (and I’m a huge Steinbeck fan, too!) GREAT post! : )
Thanks so much for your lovely comments! Please let me know if you try the Kiwi Cake, I thought it was delightful.
I love kiwis, this looks like a great way to enjoy them!
I love kiwis fresh, just scooping out their goreous sweet flesh with a spoon, but a kiwi cake is a fabulous idea!!!! It looks divine!
Kiwis are delightful! It is quite wonderful to have such lovely fruit in our winter season.
My husband and I drove past here, on our way to Windsor (in October). I hope to come here during berry season. I like kiwis (of course with strawberries are my faves). I’ve never baked with them. Sounds like you had a really fun day. Hopefully, our busy lives will align and we can have a field trip like this. Lovely photos and the cake looks delicious. We should share tastes, since we’re neighbors!
It was such a beautiful day along the coast, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. I also made kiwi jam and then some kiwi-strawberry, which was very good!
One of these days, I have to visit a kiwi orchard. It’s one of my favorite fruits even though they don’t grow anywhere near where I live. I love the idea of a cake with kiwis!
I very much enjoy the floral sweetness of kiwis as well. The vibrant green is such a lovely addition to fruit salads and tarts. I just had to try something new and a cake it was!
Deborah, this is a wonderful post. I love all the great photos and I must say your kiwi cake makes my mouth water… the color alone is fabulous!
Thank you for your lovely comment! The Kiwi Cake is delightful.
How fun to pick your own kiwis. The cake looks fabulous. Such an original idea.
Thanks Barbara! It was a glorious California winter day, we had a great time.