Apricot, almond & ricotta cake
Stone fruit season has arrived and if, like me, you have been patiently waiting for ripe apricots, sweet cherries or juicy nectarines, this is the cake for you. This flour-less cake is light and fluffy, using ground almonds which are from the same family as stone fruits. A perfect pairing.
INGREDIENTS:
125g butter, softened
210g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste/ essence
4 eggs, separated
250g ground almonds
250g ricotta (strain to remove any liquid)
6 apricots (roughly 300g) stoned and halved
30g flaked almonds
Icing sugar to decorate
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and line a 9 inch round cake tin.
In a mixing bowl beat the butter and 150g of sugar together until light and pale in colour. Add the vanilla and then the egg yolks one at a time.
Once combined mix in the ricotta and the ground almonds.
Whisk the egg whites along with the remaining 60g sugar to soft peaks, and then gently fold this into the cake mixture and mix until you have a smooth batter.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin before adding the fruit. If you have larger apricots you might want to cut them into quarters. Sprinkle over the almonds and bake for 50 minutes or until firm in the middle and golden.
Tips
If the apricots are really hard, once they are sliced toss them with a tablespoon of caster sugar and leave to macerate for 20 minutes before adding to the cake.
I’ve also made this cake in a 8 inch cake tin, increase the cooking time by a further 10-15 minutes if this is the size you have.