Apricot Cake with Almonds and Orange zest

Ingredients:

• 95 g dried Apricots
• 75 g ground Almonds
• 250 g Butter, softened
• 250 g Caster Sugar
• 95 g plain Flour
• 4 large Eggs, beaten
• 1 Lemon, juice and zest
• 1 Orange, zest
• Sugar for dusting
• 9 in (23 cm) Springform tin, lined with greaseproof paper

Method:

•  Preheat the oven to 180 C/ Gas mark 4.
• Whisk butter and sugar together in a bowl until mixture is white and fluffy.
• Whizz apricots with 1 tsp of flour in a blender until they are finely chopped but not as soft as a puree.
• In a bowl, mix almonds and the rest of the flour and set aside.
• Add the eggs to sugar and butter mixture gradually while beating slowly. Add the lemon and orange zest and a third of almond and flour mixture, start mixing slowly with electric hand whisk.
• Add the second and the third lot of almond mixture slowly, if you do this too quickly, you will end up with a heavy cake.
• Mix in lemon juice and apricot, then transfer the mixture to the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes.
• Run a palette knife around the edge of the tin, turn the cake out onto a piece of greaseproof paper dusted with sugar and leave to cool, then turn the right way up and cut into slices.
• Serve with Vanilla ice creams.