Foraged loquat upside down cake by @down2forage

Pictures: Emily Smith

Emily is a documentary producer living in London but also a self-taught seasoned forager who collects roots, berries/fruits, fungi and plants to cook her daily meals, which are documented on her IG account @down2forage. Her love for food and cooking has been expanded through her wild food experimentation, and she is constantly trying to push the boundaries and create entirely new recipes from rarely eaten ingredients.

Emily does not expect everyone to become a seasoned forager, but instead hopes a window into her life will encourage others to connect with nature and reap all the mental and physical benefits that this brings. She hopes to stimulate more conversations about where food is coming from and promote the importance of eating seasonally and shopping locally wherever possible. Her passion is also showcasing the beauty and wonder of the natural world.

Emily’s notes

• This recipe also works with any foraged stone fruits  - plums, apricots, peaches… and they all taste great with a hint of lavender.

• I love the light and airy sponge with its almond, honey and vanilla tones, contrasting with the lightly caramelised bottom of the cake, and the sweet but tangy loquats.

• I have eaten loquats (Biwa) in Japan but I was very surprised to find plenty of trees heaving with ripe fruits in London. No one here even knows what they are! But loquats are the perfect fruit in my opinion - sweet, juicy, tangy, citrusy...combining the best of apricots and peaches with a bonus floral element.

• Throughout history, meadowsweet has been cherished for its medicinal uses, celebrated in folklore, and admired for its delicate flavour. It loves moist habitats so is often found along the edges of streams, rivers, and ponds. I harvest the flowers and quickly dry them and/or freeze them. It tastes like vanilla with an added almond and honey flavour, so I use in lieu of vanilla pods in most of my recipes. If you can’t find meadowsweet, you can just use vanilla! They have some of the same chemical compounds.

• Foraging is a great way of being sustainable, whilst also introducing amazingly unique flavours into your cooking. It is important to never eat anything you haven’t properly identified. 

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Ingredients

Serves: 3 portions

Prepping time: 15 min

Cooking time: 30 min

For the top of the cake:

• 25g softened butter

• 25g light soft brown sugar

• Halved loquats with pits removed

For the sponge:

• 50g softened butter

• 50g golden caster sugar

• 20g self-raising flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• Meadowsweet flowers

• 1 egg

• Lavender flowers to decorate

Preparation

• Beat 25g softened butter with 25g light soft brown sugar. Spread over the base and up a little bit of the side of your 5.5 inch tin. Place the halved loquats skin cut down.

• In a bowl, combine the other ingredients and beat until soft.

• Spoon the batter on top of the loquats.

• Bake for 30 minutes at 180C or until golden and done all the way through (check that a skewer comes out clean).

• Let cake stand for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto a plate.

• Decorate with lavender flowers.