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Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake(Pandispan Cu Fructe)

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake(Pandispan Cu Fructe) is a traditional summer cake that has a light, delicious texture and it is filled usually with seasonal fruits.

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Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake (Pandispan cu fructe)- A summer delight

For many years, this has been one of my favorite desserts. I have made it so many times that I could probably recite the recipe in my sleep.

Generations of Romanians keep making this Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake or “Pandispan cu fructe” as we call it in Romanian.

It is mostly a summer cake that people make to take advantage of seasonal fruits.

I had this cake made with strawberries, but I also had it with sour cherries, which are very traditional for this recipe, peaches, sweet cherries, or apricots.

This time I made it with raspberries, and it was divine.

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake- in the baking pan

The cake is relatively dense (to hold the weight of the fruits), it is moist, delicious, and not very sweet. 

It is usually baked in large baking pans(12x16inch) and it is perfect for a family event, potluck, or anytime you have a sweet tooth.

The recipe is easy to make, and the results are awesome.

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake-powdered with sugar in the baking pan

I love this recipe, as it brings back memories from my home country, childhood and summers without worries.

section of the cake sitting on parchment paper

When I was a kid, my mother would bake a cake like this and take it to potlucks or picnics. It was a perfect dessert at the beach or as a snack in the lunch box.

It holds well, and doesn’t spoil in the heat of the summer.

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake(Pandispan cu fructe)- sliced cake on parchment paper

Summers in Romania are hot and every month provides different fruits that are awesome for this recipe. In June, there are strawberries, raspberries, and sour or sweet cherries.

In July and August, there are apricots, peaches, and nectarines that bring flavor to this cake. You have to try the cake no matter what kind of fruits you use.

 If fresh fruit is not available,  frozen fruit will do the job.

Maybe they are not as good as the fresh fruits in season, but they are perfectly fine to use in this recipe.

However, if you want to go really, really traditional and use good fresh sour cherries, but you cannot find them anywhere, I suggest looking for canned sour cherries you can find in most European stores around the United States.

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake(Pandispan cu fructe) - sliced cake on a black plate

The sour cherries are sold in jars, and the lightly sweetened deep-red liquid in which they are preserved makes the most wonderful, intensely fruit-flavored drink.

True, these canned sour cherries are softer than the fresh ones, but this is a small compromise considering their wonderful flavor.

I hope you try the recipe, you will not be sorry! And if you are a Romanian who lives outside of Romania and remember your grandmother making this for you, try this recipe and let me know what you think! Happy baking!

Some other recipes you can try for the summer:

Easy Summer Old Fashion Peach Cake

Pound Cake with Fruits And Almond Flakes

Plums Coffee Cake- Summer Dessert

No Bake Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Yield: 25-30 servings

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake(Pandispan Cu Fructe)

Romanian Fruit Coffee CakePandispan Cu Fructe12

Romanian Fruit Coffee Cake(Pandispan cu fructe) is a summer recipe that uses fruits that are in season like sour cherries, raspberry, strawberry etc.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds/900g raspberries(or strawberries, cherries, peaches, apricots)
  • 3 sticks butter/ 1.5 cups/ 12.35oz/350g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 2 cups/8.8oz/250 g powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons/50 g honey
  • lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 5 large eggs
  • 3 1/3 cups/14.11oz/400g all purpose flour(sifted)
  • 1/4 teaspoon/3 g salt
  • 1 teaspoon/5 g baking powder
  • Large Baking pan- 12x16 inch or 30x40cm

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
  2. In a large bowl place butter at room temperature, powdered sugar, honey, lemon zest and vanilla extract.
  3. Using a hand mixer, start by mixing the ingredients together on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the eggs and keep mixing on medium speed.
  5. In a separate medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
  6. Add the flour slowly to the batter and keep mixing on low speed until the batter is smooth.
  7. Prepare a large baking pan(12x16 inch or 30x40cm) by buttering the bottom of it. Cover the pan with parchment paper and butter the parchment paper as well.
  8. Pour half of the batter on the baking pan and add half of the amount of fruit.
  9. Add the other half of batter on top of the fruits and finish with the rest of the fruits.(batter-fruit-batter-fruit)
  10. Bake at 350F/180C 30-35 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown.
  11. Let cool, then serve cut in squares sprinkled with powdered sugar on top.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

30

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 301Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 114mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 4gSugar: 14gProtein: 3g

Did you make this recipe?

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Natalie

Tuesday 20th of July 2021

I made this cake using some over ripe cherries and apricots. My dad bit into it and was instantly reminded of my grandmothers recipe that no one has. I dont bake a lot, the part where I had to spread the batter over the first layer of fruit was interesting.... I thought I was doing it all wrong because some of the fruit from the bottom layer was translucent through the batter. The cake rose perfectly. I ended up having to bake it for an extra 10 minutes. Probably because my cherries were so ripe and started to leak juices over the cake... I waited till the top of the cake was golden and it turned out perfect! I think some almond slivers or a little bit of almond extract would be nice, but not necessary! 5/5 stars! I'm keeping this one in the books! Oh, and I only used 800g of fruit because I couldn't fit the 900g on the cake- i dont think it made a difference:) thank you for sharing!!!

The Bossy Kitchen

Tuesday 20th of July 2021

Thank you, Natalie! There is a reason why the batter is thicker. This way, the fruits do not go to the bottom of the pan. It is a sturdy cake that holds lots of fruits! I love that you tried and came up with a recipe that you will keep! Congratulations! So happy that your dad enjoyed it as well!

Amy Persechini

Friday 31st of May 2019

I’m thinking of mixing raspberries and strawberries. Have you tried mixing fruits together?

The Bossy Kitchen

Friday 31st of May 2019

I never mixed them, but it works, no problem. I sometime use these frozen bags of fruit, especially in the winter and the cake comes out perfect. Let me know how it was.:-)

Cristina

Sunday 26th of May 2019

I made this cake using very ripe apricots and it came out fantastic! Great flavor, not too sweet and dense enough so even my husband who is very fussy about desserts likes it. This so far is my favorite coffee cake that not only tastes amazing, but it brings memories of my childhood. Highly recommend this recipe.

The Bossy Kitchen

Sunday 26th of May 2019

Hi Cristina, Thank you for trying the recipe. I really love this recipe too. It is sturdy/dense, not falling apart and super delicious. Also, so versatile, you can replace raspberries with cherries, sour cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, blueberries etc.

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