March recipe: Apricot and almond cake

Dried apricots and ground almonds are available all the year round, thanks to international transport, so this cake can be made at any time of year. March is as good a time as any, and it seems to suit the brighter days of spring.

Apricot and almond cake

4 oz (approx 100 g) butter
4 oz (approx 100 g) sugar. I use golden caster sugar or light brown soft sugar
2 eggs
Juice of half a lemon
1.5 oz (approx 30 g) ground almonds
2 oz (approx 50 g) plain flour
2 oz (approx 50 g) dried apricots

Chop the dried apricots into pieces the size you would like to find in your cake. I aim for pieces about the size of a raisin.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat the eggs and stir into the creamed mixture.
Stir in the almonds and lemon juice.
Stir in the flour and apricots and mix thoroughly.
Spread in a greased shallow baking tin, about 7” (approx 18 cm) square, and level the top.
Bake in a moderate oven, about 170 C, for about 30 minutes. It’s done when the sponge springs back if pressed lightly with a finger, and has shrunk slightly away from the edges of the tin.
Cut into pieces, lift the pieces out of the tin and cool on a wire rack. I usually cut 12 pieces.
Keeps about a week in an airtight tin, or can be frozen.