Sauternes and apricot cake
Sweet dessert wine – like a late-harvest riesling or semillon – gives this cake a fine texture, and dried apricots add to its complex fruitiness. Adapted from a recipe from California's Chez Panisse.
Ingredients
225g soft dried apricots
2 tbsp sultanas
2 tbsp currants
2 tbsp honey
375ml sweet dessert wine
3 eggs
150g castor sugar
150ml olive oil
1 tbsp grated orange zest
180g plain flour, sifted
1½ tsp baking powder
icing sugar for dusting
Method
Step 1
Combine 125g apricots with sultanas, currants, honey and 225ml dessert wine and bring to the boil. Simmer over high heat until thick and syrupy, then set aside. Whiz the remaining 100g apricots to a puree (add a splash of hot water if necessary) and set aside.
Step 2
Heat oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Use a teaspoon of the olive oil to oil a 20cm square baking pan and line with baking paper.
Step 3
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 3 minutes until pale. Add 150ml dessert wine, olive oil, orange zest and apricot puree, beating well. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder and mix until just combined.
Step 4
Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool, dust with icing sugar and serve with the syrupy dried fruits.
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Jill Dupleix is a Good Food contributor and reviewer who writes the Know-How column.
