Fresh fruit baked into cakes provides a nice contrast of taste and texture, but figuring out how to get the fruit to distribute itself evenly throughout the cake can be a challenge. Because the fruit has a greater mass than individual bits of batter, and because the batter is quite moist, pieces of fruit have a tendency to sink to the bottom if you just throw them in. In order to put fresh fruit in your cake batter, you need to prepare the fruit first. Think of it like putting on a bathing suit before you go to a pool.
Wash and cut fresh fruit into small pieces, sized no larger than a slice of a strawberry. If you are using fruits like berries, do not need peel them. If you are using kiwis, bananas, or other fruits that require peeling, peel them before cutting.
Measure 1/4 cup flour or cocoa powder into a bowl. Use cocoa for chocolate cakes and flour for all other cakes.
Roll the fruit pieces in the flour, so they are lightly coated on all sides.
Fold the fresh fruit into the cake batter gently, as though it was egg whites. Stop as soon as you have distributed the fruit evenly throughout the batter; do not overmix.
Bake your cake according to your recipe’s instructions.