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Dried Plum and Apricot Cake

17/11/2023

The dried plum and apricot cake is a rich, deliciously moist dessert with an autumnal flavor. For an Italian touch, you could add chopped almonds both in the batter and sprinkled on top before baking, to add crunchiness and a richer taste.

Ingredients

  • 150 g dried plums
  • 150 g dried apricots
  • 250 ml strong black tea (to soften the dried fruit)
  • 200 g soft wheat flour (or 00 flour)
  • 100 g brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 ml seed oil (or extra virgin olive oil for a more Mediterranean version)
  • 1 sachet of baking powder
  • A pinch of salt
  • Grated zest of one lemon (organic if possible)
  • 50 g chopped almonds (optional)
  • Sliced almonds for decoration (optional)

Preparation

  1. Start by cutting the dried plums and apricots into pieces; if they are very hard, you may want to soak them in hot black tea for about 30 minutes to soften them.
  2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, sift the flour and mix it with the baking powder and the pinch of salt.
  3. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the brown sugar until you get a light and frothy mixture. Add the oil and the grated lemon zest and continue mixing.
  4. Gradually incorporate the flour mixture into the eggs, mixing well to avoid lumps.
  5. Add the dried plums and apricots (well drained if you soaked them) and the chopped almonds to the batter, mixing gently to distribute them evenly.
  6. Pour the mixture into a cake pan prepared with parchment paper or buttered and floured. If desired, you can decorate the surface of the cake with almond flakes.
  7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 40-45 minutes, or until the toothpick test: inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake, it should come out clean if the cake is done.
  8. Let the cake cool slightly in the turned-off oven with the door open, then unmold and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Fun Facts

The pairing of dried fruit such as plums and apricots with almond paste is typical of Italian sweet preparations, especially in the southern regions like Sicily. Almonds add not only flavor but also an important nutritional component, due to their richness in monounsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E.