French Apricot Cake

A much loved and much used recipe in our family. It is an old fashioned French recipe and comes from a friend of mine who got it from the French family she worked for.

It is good when you need a quick cake or pudding.

It is meant to be eaten within a day so don’t keep it. It also works well with peeled pears, apples or peaches, or nectarines.

Ingredients

• 180g butter
• 250g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 250g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 6-7 ripe apricots, halved and stoned

Method

Preheat the oven to 175°C.

Butter and line a 22cm diameter springform tin with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar then add the vanilla and the eggs, beating well after each egg.

Stir in the flour and baking powder so that it well incorporated (don’t beat it in or the cake will be tough).

Pour into the tin and press the apricot halves into the mixture so that they are only half pushed in and evenly distributed.

Sprinkle very liberally with extra sugar.

Bake 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, cool slightly and remove from the tin.

Serve in wedges, warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.