Almonds + dried apricots + white chocolate! Humm … need I say more!
There are so many versions of this type of cake, but the one that really appealed to me was created by Francois Razavet (see here). I have made this cake a few times and have altered it slightly each time. I feel the absolute trick to the delicious flavour is in using blanched almonds and roasting them beforehand to truly bring out their wonderful flavour.
To roast almonds place on a baking tray, and bake in a pre-heated 180 degrees fan forced oven for 8 minutes, turn almonds around on tray and return to oven for a further 2 to 4 minutes until lightly roasted. NB: when you roast nuts they loose moisture giving you less weight after roasting than before roasting. You need 400g of roasted almonds for this recipe so toast 420g to allow for the slight shrinkage, and allow to cool completely before using. This can be done well ahead of preparing the cake, making the final process very quick and easy.
To finish off the presentation of the cake (and to make it look a little bit special), I have drizzled the top with white chocolate melted with just a teaspoonful of coconut oil …this allows the chocolate to set but still be soft (so that it doesn’t harden) allowing you to cut lovely even slices without tearing at the top of it. I have given you two finished photos of the cake: one sprinkled with white chocolate crisp pearls (I get them from the Savour Chocolate School in Melbourne when I order my Callebaut chocolate … see here), and the other with some roasted slivered almonds. I feel the first option looks lovely for a special occasion like Christmas, and the roasted silvered almonds are fabulous for any time of the year. Whatever you use do this whilst the chocolate is still soft so that they stick to the cake, and a final dusting of icing sugar before you serve it will finish it off beautifully.
The cake keeps well at room temperature for at least five days, and is delicious served with a spoonful of vanilla bean ice-cream (see here).
I have made this cake a few times and have altered it slightly each time. I feel the absolute trick to the delicious flavour is in using blanched almonds and roasting them beforehand to truly bring out their wonderful flavour.
To roast almonds place on a baking tray, and bake in a pre-heated 180 degrees fan forced oven for 8 minutes, turn almonds around on tray and return to oven for a further 2 to 4 minutes until lightly roasted. NB: when you roast nuts they loose moisture giving you less weight after roasting than before roasting. You need 400g of roasted almonds for this recipe so toast 420g to allow for the slight shrinkage, and allow to cool completely before using. This can be done well ahead of preparing the cake, making the final process very quick and easy.
To finish off the presentation of the cake (and to make it look a little bit special), I have drizzled the top with white chocolate melted with just a teaspoonful of coconut oil …this allows the chocolate to set but still be soft (so that it doesn’t harden) allowing you to cut lovely even slices without tearing at the top of it. I have given you two finished photos of the cake: one sprinkled with white chocolate crisp pearls (I get them from the Savour Chocolate School in Melbourne when I order my Callebaut chocolate), and the other with some roasted slivered almonds. I feel the first option looks lovely for a special occasion like Christmas, and the roasted silvered almonds are fabulous for any time of the year. Whatever you use do this whilst the chocolate is still soft so that they stick to the cake, and a final dusting of icing sugar before you serve it will finish it off beautifully.
The cake keeps well at room temperature for at least five days, and is delicious served with a spoonful of vanilla bean ice-cream.
- 400g roasted blanched almonds
- 100g dried apricots
- 250g golden caster sugar
- 6 x 60g eggs
- 1 tbls baking powder
- 100g desiccated coconut
- 100g white chocolate, chopped into pea size pieces
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 100g white chocolate, chopped into pea size pieces
- 1 slightly rounded tsp coconut oil
- Roasted slivered almonds, enough to sprinkle over cake
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees (fan forced) and place rack into middle of oven
- Grease and line 24cm cake tin (base measurement)
- Place almonds into TM bowl and mill 4 seconds / speed 9, put aside
- Place apricots into TM bowl and chop 3 seconds / speed 7, put aside with almonds (if you store your apricots in the fridge and they are still cold you may have to repeat this process as you want the pieces to be relatively small)
- Add sugar and eggs to TM bowl and blend 3 minutes / 37 / speed 4 (mix will be a little frothy)
- Return almonds and apricots to TM bowl, along with the baking powder, coconut, chocolate, vanilla bean paste and salt and mix 10 seconds x speed 5 … mix will be thick and a little sticky ... scrape around bowl to catch any mixture at the top
- Pour mix into baking tin and level top
- Bake for 60 minutes, test with skewer, and add another 5 minutes if necessary (it takes exactly 65 minutes in my oven)
- Let cake cool for 15 minutes in tin before removing to cool on wire rack
- For such a small amount of chocolate I find using the microwave easier, but you can certainly melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water if you prefer (be careful with any drips of water getting in as that will seize the chocolate)
- Add the coconut oil to the melted chocolate and stir through
- Allow mix to cool a little where it will thicken up so that you can drizzle it over the cake and it will keep clean lines
- Sprinkle over the roasted slivered almonds and allow the topping to set
- Before serving dust lightly with icing sugar
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