Sometimes we all need a showstopper cake in our repertoire and this is one of mine.I love a bit of Amaretto and Apricot cake and I seem to be making more and more tall cakes with a touch of alcohol in the ingredients…. and I’m practically teetotal. Well, designated driver at least!

This is a cake I came up with after my lovely friend Jane gave me a beautiful bottle of Disaranno after I made her daughters Minecraft cake.( I’ll have to share that with you sometime. It was a girl version of this one.) The reason Jane bought me this rather than any other drink is because Dr Pepper is my drink of choice – I love the stuff, and amaretto and coke is like alchoholic Dr P. Very good on a school mum’s night out.

Anyway, I was talking to my sister about the disaranno and she said that Amaretto is made from apricots and I was surprised as I always thought it came from almonds. It turns out that it can be made from either.  What a good way to flavour a cake I thought. So I did.

Amaretto and apricot cake

For the cake

• 150g dried apricots (cut into small pieces)
• 100ml Amaretto

• 175g butter at room temperature
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp Amaretto
• 200g self raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder

Amaretto Buttercream

• 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 200g icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp Amaretto (or 1 tsp almond extract)  this could be increased according to your preferred taste

Amaretto Glaze

• 50g butter
• 50ml honey
• 1 tbsp ameretto

1. Cut up the apricots into small pieces and soak in an air tight container for 24-72 hours – or longer if you want a boozier cake. Give the container a shake every now and then.
2. To make the cake: Pre heat the oven to 180ºC (Fan oven160ºC) and line a deep 6″ cake tin or four 6″ sandwich tins- You can use disposable foil ones for a quick clean up.
3. Place the sugar and butter in a bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs slowly and whisk thoroughly. Add the Amaretto
5. Sieve the flour and baking powder over the mix and fold in gently.
6. Add the chopped apricots and whatever Amaretto hasn’t been absorbed.
7. Place the cake mix in the cake tin, smooth with the back of a spoon and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes for sandwich tins (40-50 minutes for a deep tin) until a skewer comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and after ten minutes take the cake/s out of the tins and leave to cool completely on a rack.
9. Once the cake is completely cold whisk all the ingredients for the buttercream together in a bowl for 4-5 minutes until it’s really light and fluffy.
10. Slice the large cake into four layers.
11. Layer up the cake with a decent amount of buttercream between each layer finishing with a smooth top. You can use a palette knife or place the buttercream in a piping bag for a really easy assembly. Set to one side.
12. To make the glaze place the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until melted. Add the honey and Amaretto then leave to bubble for 5-10 minutes until the liquid is a rich golden brown colour, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before pouring into a jug.
13. When nearly completely cold pour the glaze over the whole cake so it dribbles down the sides. Ensure the glaze isn’t too warm or it will completely melt the butter cream.
14. Serve straight away

Enjoy!

EmmaMT

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