Sticky Apricot Cake - serves 8 - 12
Ingredients
- for the Cake
- 175g chopped dried apricots
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 115g gluten free flour
- 55g maize flour or cornflour
- 55g ground almonds
- 1 heaped tsp gluten free baking powder
- 225g Demerara sugar
- 225g butter or margarine, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- for the Topping
- 45g butter
- 20g caster sugar
- 25g golden syrup
- 20 ml double cream
How to make this recipe dairy free?
Need some advice on ingredients see -
The wheat, gluten and lactose free store cupboard
Method
Preheat oven to 190°c / 375°f / gas mark 5
Grease and line a 20cm / 8in round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Place the chopped apricots and bicarbonate of soda into a small saucepan. Add 140ml water and bring to the boil, stirring to stop the apricots sticking to the pan. Turn off the heat and leave the apricots in the pan.
Sieve together the gluten free flour, maize flour, ground almonds and gluten free baking powder four times to ensure the baking powder is fully incorporated.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs a little at a time, if the mixture looks like it is going to split fold in a spoonful of the flour.
Fold in the apricots then the flour.
Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a plate then turn this onto a cooling wire so the cake cools the right way up or it could break in half.
Place all the topping ingredients into a saucepan and boil until it turns to a caramel colour and pour over the top of the cake.
how to make this recipe dairy free...
Use dairy free margarine in place of butter in the sponge.
Topping
45g dairy free margarine
20g caster sugar
25g golden syrup
soya milk or your choice of dairy free milk
Heat the dairy free margarine, caster sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan. Stir until all of the ingredients have melted then boil until the mixture turns to a caramel colour.
Add a drop of soya milk. ( Be careful as the caramel may spit). Stir until smooth and pour over the cake.
Dairy free fudge sauce
175g Demerara sugar
250ml gluten free soya cream
Place the demerara sugar with a 50ml water into a large saucepan. Stir over the heat until the sugar melts. Stop stirring, leave the sugar to boil until it turns to a caramel colour.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the soya cream. (Be careful as the caramel may spit). Place the pan over a low heat and stir until the caramel melts into the cream.
Spoon a little of the sauce over each pudding and serve the rest in a sauce boat with a second sauce boat of dairy free custard.
Gem's hints and tips
In all recipes requiring self-raising gluten free flour, I advise sieving the flours together with the gluten free baking powder four times to make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
If you have made a cake that is really heavy with a solid lump of eggy mixture at the bottom one reason could be because the baking powder wasn’t mixed into the flour properly.
If you can’t find maize flour then cornflour is easily available and makes a good substitute. There isn’t much difference but I do prefer maize flour. See resources.
Gluten free cakes are best eaten fresh, they will keep well for a week. They can be frozen but the texture goes a bit grainy when defrosted.
Gluten free cakes are crumblier than other cakes but taste just as good. To cut neat slices, dip a sharp knife in hot water and wipe clean between slices.
Why not try… Sticky Apricot Pudding
Bake as for the cake or spoon the cake mixture into eight greased individual dariole moulds (or similar) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. Leave in the tin for five minutes while you make the fudge sauce and custard.
Fudge Sauce
125g soft light brown sugar
90g unsalted butter
300ml double cream
Heat all of the sauce ingredients in a saucepan large enough for the liquid to boil up. Stir until all of the ingredients have melted then boil for three minutes.
Run a knife around the inside of the mould to empty the pudding onto individual plates. Spoon a little of the sauce over each pudding and serve the rest in a sauce boat with a secong sauce boat of custard.
