I love this cake so much and as I was making it yesterday I realised I hadn’t shared the recipe with you all. And I love baking in my new kitchen so much. I love that the oven is fan forced and has a light! I love that the island is so big I can spread out along it. I love how big the sink is to fit all the big bowls and dirty dishes till I’m done and ready to wash. And I love that I can look out and watch the little ones play. Those of you who can’t believe that I’m leaving my lovely new kitchen, don’t worry. I’ll be recreating something very similar in the next house.
Now the reason I love this cake so much is because it makes a huge cake. I use my largest baking pan and get about 20 slices from it. But I have to admit that my apricots always sink to the bottom. Maybe one day they’ll stay at the top. The recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Monday Morning Cooking Club and I share the recipe as I make it.
4 eggs
330g (1 1/2 cups sugar)
250g unsalted butter (softened)
1Tbsp vanilla extract/essence
300g (2 cups) self raising flour
large (800g) tin apricot halves
Preheat oven to 180 degrees (I do 160-170 in a fan forced oven). Line a large rectangle baking tin or laminton tin. Seperate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. I do this in my kitchen aid so I can do the rest of the cake mix in my Thermomix but you can always make the main cake mixture in the kitchen aid after your egg whites by washing out the bowl well and putting the egg whites in a separate clean bowl.
Now beat egg yolks, vanilla and sugar until light and creamy. I firstly place my raw sugar in the thermomix and process on speed 9 for 10 seconds and add egg yolks and vanilla and process 20 seconds speed 4. Add in butter and process for 20 seconds on speed 3. Add in the flour. I do this for 20 seconds on speed 3 and scrape down the bowl halfway if necessary. If you don’t have a thermomix, you are just creaming the butter, sugar and vanilla then adding in the sifted flour. Then I place my butter cake mixture in a large bowl and add in a large spoon of the egg whites and gently mix in. Fold in the rest of the egg whites and spoon the mixture into the lined tin. Place the drained apricots cut side up on top of your cake mix. I always have some left over which the kids eat straight away
Bake for about 45 minutes or so until a skewer comes out clean in the centre. Of course don’t hit an apricot or it won’t come out clean. Lift out the cake by the paper and leave to cool on a cooling rack. It’s also nice with icing sugar dusted on the top.
And here it is ready to serve 6 hungry little people yesterday.
It went down really well and although I say it’s cake for a crowd. In our house it lasted one day. And I better get used to making cakes this size as our family grows.
Cake looks really good! Have you tried dusting the apricots with flour before adding them? I know you can do that with raisins so they don’t sink..
Yum Corrie thanks for the recipe. I already have it in the oven but I didn’t have any apricots so I’ve used raspberries. Smells divine!!
Yum! I love my kitchen too and will be sad when we eventually leave. Lucky my husband is a cabinet maker by trade so he can always re-create it!
Thanks for sharing. This recipe looks simple and delicious. I can’t wait to try it,
Yep – dusting the bottoms of the apricots will keep them sitting neatly at the top of the cake as it rises. I can’t wait to get my new oven installed so that I can start baking again!
I’ve totally missed something. When did the ‘we are moving house’ decision happen?? Ohh, great recipe too, but the whole “I will be leaving my new kitchen” sort of jumped out at me. Good luck with all your plans.
Nancy may be on to something here. Yesterday I made a coconut and berry cake. Before you add the blueberries, you have to dust them in cornflour. At the time, I couldn’t work out why. But they don’t sink at all. May be worth a try on the apricots. Great cake, by the way. I love a cake that feeds the masses. Sounds like a good one too to freeze for the lunch boxes.
I make a similar one that has cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top and it’s great served warm with custard for dessert!
oooh looks yummy, would be great with custard and cream. Peaches would also work well.
Corrie I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you used your kitchen aid as well as your thermomix…I was having a heart attack thinking once my thermomix arrives I would no longer need my kitchen aid, and I was a bit sad because I love it soooo much….I can now see how both are equally loved and used… :-)))))) x
Kelly
Sounds delish!!
Thank You again Corrie. I’m always looking for big cakes to make for sowing, shearing and harvest to pack Essie’s and this one definitely fits the bill.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks I’ll be trying this!
It looks really yummy, and sounds a bit like the Eve’s pudding my nan makes but with apricots instead of apples!
Yum – thanks for sharing Corrie. I baked it on the weekend – and what can I say…it’s gone! Was delicious for dessert with custard & cream & then perfect for school lunches! Then my 7 year old came home after school & polished off the rest yesterday! x
Great timing Corrie, volunteered to cook morning tea for our church working bee this Saturday but couldn’t think what to bake – will be doing this!!!
I’ll be making this for the holidays! Thank you and yuummmm!!