Recipes

Vanilla poached apricots with hazelnut sponge

Serves 8-10
Preparation time
Cooking time

Ingredients

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Place the water and sugar into a medium saucepan and stir to dissolve sugar
3. Add the vanilla bean and some of the seeds and bring to the boil
4. Simmer for 5 minutes, add the apricots and continue to simmer until apricots are soft
5. Allow to cool
6. Brush the sides of an 18cm square or a 24cm round cake tin with melted butter and line the base with baking paper
7. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and creamy
8. Add the hazelnut meal and fold through
9. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff and fold into the hazelnut mixture
10. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake
11. You may need to cover the top with alfoil half way to stop the top of the cake browning too much
12. Allow to cool then remove from the tin
13. Whip the cream with the remaining seeds from the vanilla bean until thick
14. To serve, cut the sponge into squares or wedges and top with whipped cream and poached apricots