Apricot, almond and cranberry cake recipe

Photo: Apricot, almond and cranberry cake recipe

Takes: 15 mins to prepare and 1 hr 30 mins to cook, 10 mins to cool
Serves: 12

 Ingredients

For the decorations
1 orange
100g (3½oz) caster sugar
4-5 green grapes
6 bay leaves
2tbsp orange juice
For the cake
175g (6oz) butter
175g (6oz) caster sugar
4 eggs
300g (10oz) self-raising flour
100g (3½oz) dried cranberries
200g (7oz) ready-to-eat apricots, chopped
50g (2oz) ground almonds
grated zest 1 orange

Make decorations first. Using a potato peeler pare off one long strip of orange rind, grate the rest for the cake. Cut the long strip of orange rind into 3 or 4 strips and wind up tightly. Set aside.

Brush grapes and bay leaves with a little egg white (taken from one of the eggs and use remainder of egg in the cake) and dust with a little caster sugar. Leave to dry.

Heat oven to Gas 3, 160°C, fan 140°C. Line and grease a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs adding a little flour if the mixture curdles. Stir in flour with cranberries, apricots, almonds and orange zest.

Spread into the tin, smooth top and bake for 1½ hours until golden, risen and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin.

To decorate baked cake put 2 tablespoons orange juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into a small pan and boil for 2 minutes until syrupy. Add remaining sugar, stir well then drizzle over the cake. Decorate with frosted grapes, bay leaves and curls of orange peel.

This cake will keep for a week in a cake tin.

From Tesco Realfood

Save and share Apricot, almond and cranberry cake recipe

Want to share this recipe with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.