Decorate the cake with sour cream icing and extra sun-dried apricots.William Meppek

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:8

Dried and preserved summer fruits are a great way to brighten up your cooking. This gently spiced cake contains nuggets of dried apricot. I like to use Australian sun-dried apricots:their colour and flavour is incredibly vibrant and they contain a perfect balance of sweet and tart. The sour cream icing is a favourite and glazes the cake beautifully – the perfect contrast to the tart apricot.

Ingredients

100g dried apricots,roughly chopped,plus extra to decorate (optional)
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
80ml boiling water
250g self-raising flour
100g almond meal
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp sea salt
100g caster sugar
100g dark brown sugar
3 eggs
100ml light extra virgin olive oil
125g full-fat sour cream

FOR THE SOUR CREAM ICING

80g full-fat sour cream,plus extra,as needed
250g icing sugar,sieved,plus extra,as needed

Method

Step1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Grease and line a 23cm-diameter round cake tin.
Step2
In a small bowl,combine the dried apricots and bicarbonate of soda. Cover with the boiling water and allow to sit for 10 minutes to soften.
Step3
In a medium bowl,combine the flour,almond meal,cardamom and salt. Set aside.
Step4
In a large bowl,whisk together the sugars and eggs until well combined. Pour in the olive oil and continue to whisk,followed by the sour cream. Add half of the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.
Step5
Next,add the apricots and any remaining liquid. Swap to a spatula and fold the apricots through the batter. Finally,add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Step6
Pour the batter into the cake tin and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested. Allow to cool briefly in the tin,then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step7
For the icing,place the sour cream and icing sugar in a bowl and whisk until smooth. If too thick,add a little more sour cream and if too runny,add some extra icing sugar. I like quite a thick icing that very slowly drips off the edge of the cake.
Step8
Spread the icing on top of the cooled cake and swirl to the edge. Top with extra dried apricots if using and serve.