Apricot Cream Cake

Oh my! this is just so delicious. I wish I could send the taste of this cake through the ether to you! I found it many years ago in a Farmer’s Weekly collection booklet. An impressive dessert cake if you wish, or can equally be ate at any time. I made it for an afternoon of Bridge. You can use either butter icing or double cream in the filling. The recipe called for the apricots to be soaked overnight to soften, but of course, these days we can buy the apricots, all lovely soft and squishy.

You will need a 7 inch spring form deep cake tin, greased and lined. Pre heat your fan oven to 160C

8 oz dried apricots

¾ pint water

6 oz softened butter

6 oz dark muscovado sugar

3 large eggs

6 oz wholemeal plain flour

1 teaspoonful baking powder

2 teaspoonfuls cinnamon

1 teaspoonful mixed spice

Double cream, plus more to decorate OR

butter icing - see below

any chopped nuts to decorate. I used chopped hazelnuts

Place the apricots in the water overnight and then simmer for about half an hour, uncovered. Drain well but keep the liquid. [I did not bother with the overnight bit, just an hour], Chop and mash the drained apricots with a fork and set aside. Do not discard the juice!! You will need it in a mo.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, one at a time with a small amount of the flour.

Fold in the flour, bp and spices and mix well then tip into your prepared tin and bake for about one hour but check after 50 mins.

Cool on a rack then cut the cake into three equal [ish] layers. Brush each layer to moisten, with the retained apricot juice.

Fill each layer with a third of the mashed apricots and the cream of your choice and sandwich together. Moisten the top and spread the last third of the apricots on top. Pipe or swirl more cream as you wish. Sprinkle over the nuts and tuck in. Absolutely deliciously moist and yummy.

Store in the fridge after making. I used buttercream.

Butter cream icing = double icing sugar to softened butter plus a little vanilla extract or bean paste, and a very small amount of water or the drained juice. I used some drained juice and for the above 4 oz butter and 8 oz icing sugar.

Note: if you are having any problems obtaining any muscovado sugar in these strange times [Asda has none, or my Sainsburys] but Morrisons have plenty

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