My Favourite Autumn Bakes: Four Recipes I Make Again and Again

Autumn is the season when I want to start baking again. I live in sunny, hot Barcelona, and in summer the last thing I want is to stand by the stove, turn on the oven and then eat a hot cake. When the days cool down, I can finally switch off the air conditioning, return to the kitchen and bake through to spring.

The oven warms the flat and fills it with the cosy smell of butter, spices and fruit. I think my love of autumn baking began in childhood: every year my family made apple cake because apples were everywhere. There are no apples in this collection, though. I chose plums, pears, oranges and dried fruit instead; nearly every family already has its own apple cake. These recipes are simple and don’t require any special baking skills.

New York Times Plum Cake

Soft buttery cake, halved plums, sugar and cinnamon. In the oven, the fruit softens and releases its juices while the sugar turns into a delicate crisp top.

Ingredients

• 115 g softened butter
• 140 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 140 g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 large, preferably tart plums
• Cinnamon to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar for the top

Method

1. Let the butter soften at room temperature; don’t melt it.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until smooth.
3. Gradually fold in the flour mixed with baking powder. Don’t add all the flour at once.
4. Grease a baking tin, add the batter and level it. Halve and stone the plums, then arrange them over the batter.
5. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40–50 minutes.

My notes: The batter around the plums may look moist because the fruit releases juice. Ovens vary, so keep an eye on yours. Let the cake cool and settle before serving.

Honey, Pear and Oat Cake

Oats and pieces of pear give this cake a lovely texture. A scoop of ice cream is perfect with a warm slice.

Ingredients for a 22–23 cm tin

• 70 g butter
• 100 g honey
• 2 eggs
• 50–70 g sugar, depending on the sweetness of the honey
• 150 g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Cinnamon and ground ginger to taste
• 50 g rolled oats
• 2 pears

The original recipe called for 100 g each of sugar and honey, but I found that too sweet, so I use 50–70 g sugar.

Method

1. Put the butter and honey in a small pan over low heat. Add cinnamon and ginger if using. Warm just until melted and combined; don’t let it boil. Leave to cool slightly.
2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Slowly pour in the warm (not hot) honey mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don’t cook.
3. Grind the oats almost to flour. Stir them into the batter with the regular flour and baking powder.
4. Cut the pears into small pieces and fold them into the batter. Grease the tin, add the batter and level the surface.
5. Bake at 180°C until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out without raw batter. Timing depends on the pears and your oven.

My notes: Choose ripe, fragrant pears that are still firm; very ripe fruit can release too much liquid. If you make one of these recipes, tag me on Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok. I’d love to see what you baked.

Orange and Dark Chocolate Loaf Cake

Orange and dark chocolate are one of my favourite combinations. This loaf is so good I could eat it all at once with tea or coffee.

Ingredients

• 100 g butter
• 150 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 75 ml freshly squeezed orange juice (usually from one large orange)
• 180 g flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 80 g dark chocolate chips

Method

1. Melt the butter and mix it with the sugar.
2. Add the eggs, orange juice and baking powder; mix well.
3. Gradually add the flour and mix to a smooth batter. Fold in the chocolate.
4. If using a chocolate bar, chop it into pieces. I like some pieces to be larger.
5. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment, add the batter and bake at 180°C for about 30–40 minutes.

My notes: Use good-quality chocolate so it stays chocolatey rather than turning waxy in the oven. For a stronger orange aroma, add a little zest, taking care to grate only the orange skin and not the bitter white pith. Let the loaf cool a little before slicing.

Spiced Dried-Fruit Cake

This cake is richer and more intense than the first three. Dried apricots, prunes, cranberries and raisins soak for several hours in fragrant tea-and-orange syrup with a little surprise.

Ingredients for an 18–20 cm round tin

For the batter

• 150 g butter
• 140 g sugar
• 150 g flour
• 3 eggs
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon, optional
• ½ tsp ginger, optional

For the fruit and syrup

• 3 tea bags or 2–3 tbsp loose black tea
• 150 ml water
• 60 g dried apricots
• 60 g prunes
• 60 g dried cranberries
• 60 g raisins
• 30 g cognac, brandy or rum
• 1 orange
• 2 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Rinse the dried fruit. Chop the apricots and prunes, and any large cranberries; leave the raisins whole.
2. Brew strong black tea in 150 ml water. Add the juice of one orange and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, then stir in the cognac, brandy or rum.
3. Add the dried fruit and leave it to soak for several hours, preferably overnight. I like to soak it in the evening and bake the cake the next morning.
4. Beat the softened butter and sugar with a mixer for 3–5 minutes. Add the eggs and mix well.
5. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Drain the fruit over a bowl and let it sit in a sieve for 5–10 minutes. Keep the soaking liquid: it will be used to moisten the cake.
6. Fold the fruit into the batter. Transfer to a greased 18–20 cm tin and bake for about an hour at 170°C. Check the centre with a wooden skewer before removing it from the oven.
7. While the cake is hot, spoon over the reserved tea-and-orange syrup in small batches, letting each addition soak in. You don’t have to use it all; stop if liquid begins to pool on the surface.
8. Leave the cake on a rack until completely cool. The syrup spreads through the cake and the fruit softens further, while the tea, orange, spices and alcohol come together into one rounded flavour.

If you don’t use alcohol, simply leave it out; the tea-and-orange base is delicious on its own.

Which autumn cake will you bake today?

When I find good plums, I usually choose the simple plum cake with cinnamon. For something especially autumnal, I make the honey, pear and oat cake. I’d bake the orange and dark chocolate loaf to have with coffee, and save the dried-fruit cake for a cold November evening, when Christmas is just around the corner.

Choose a cake to match your mood, turn on the oven and enjoy one of the many cosy evenings ahead.