Apricot and Almond Cake

This is more of a pudding than a cake, ie, one that you need to eat with a good scoop of ice cream and lashings of sauce.  It was the suggestion of one of my son's lovely friends, who wanted to try something with apricot and almonds.  So, Sian, here it is...  One thing you need to note - because the apricots are fresh, the cake doesn't last very long.  Not that it should be a problem!   As you can see, this became a little over-brown, which was because I wasn't watching it, and I should have put a piece of parchment on the top to prevent that from happening.   It is very easily made dairy-free by the use of a spread, and you could possibly make it gluten free by using a gluten free self-raising blend instead of the flour.

Apricot and Almond Cake 

Apricot and Almond Cake

6 fresh or tinned apricots

3 large fresh eggs

4.5oz/125g self raising flour

1.5oz/30g ground almonds

6oz/170g caster sugar

6oz/170g softened butter/buttery spread

1 ½  level tsps baking powder

1 ½ tsps cinnamon

1 ½ oz flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 180 deg C, grease and line a 9” cake tin with parchment, bottom and sides. 

Halve the apricots.  If you are using tinned ones, drain them and pat them dry with kitchen paper, otherwise they will make the cake sink.    In a food processor or Kenwood, blend the eggs, flour, sugar, butter, baking powder and cinnamon together and then beat for about one minute.   Tip the mixture into the tin, then press in the apricots, cut side up – I found I had half an apricot left over (cook’s perk!).  Lastly, sprinkle on the flaked almonds.     Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the sponge is cooked, protecting with parchment after about 15 minutes.  To test, put a (heated) knife or skewer into the middle, and it should come out clean. Peel off the parchment and either eat it almost straight away, or allow to cool on a wire rack. 

Serve hot for a pudding, with custard, ice cream or hot apricot jam that has been sieved with a little water added to thin down the mix.  For a cake, eat with a good dollop of whipped cream and maybe a little bit of jam on the side...