Apricot Ratafia Sponge Cake Recipes

APRICOT & RATAFIA SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter the base and sides of a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and line with baking parchment.
• Put the butter, sugar, flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Break in the eggs, add the almond essence, if using, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Set aside a quarter of the mixture, then stir the chopped apricots and 25g of the biscuits into the remainder. Spoon into the tin and lightly smooth with the back of the spoon. Bake for 25 mins until the cake is almost set. Meanwhile, stir the apricot halves, remaining biscuits and flaked almonds into the reserved cake mixture until well mixed. Quickly dot the extra cake mixture onto the part-baked cake, then return to the oven for 20 mins more or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

APRICOT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a small bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Drain apricots, reserving 3 tablespoons syrup (discard remaining syrup); set aside., Place butter in a 9-in. square baking dish. Place in oven 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted; swirl carefully to coat evenly. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange apricot halves in a single layer over brown sugar, cut side up., In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until slightly thickened. Gradually add sugar, beating on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in reserved apricot syrup. Fold in flour mixture., With clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Spoon over apricots. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm.

APRICOT SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Add the egg yolks to the flour mixture along with the apricot juice and vanilla and almond extracts. Beat on low speed of an electric mixer for about 1 minute.
• Wash beaters well before beating egg whites. In a glass or metal bowl (don't use plastic) beat the egg whites until fluffy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
• Gently fold the egg yolk-flour mixture into the egg whites about 1/4 at time. Don't stir or cake will not be spongy. Gently turn batter into an ungreased tube pan.
• Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. Immediately turn pan upside down and let cool. Once cake is cool remove it from the pan.

FRESH APRICOT-HONEY SPONGE CAKE (RUSSIAN STYLE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch cake pan with butter, and dust with bread crumbs; set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced apricots, and drizzle with honey. Cover, and cook gently until the apricots have softened, then allow to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, beat the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric mixer. Slowly pour in sugar while continuing to beat to stiff peaks; set aside.
• Beat the egg yolks on low speed for a few seconds until slightly thickened. Slowly pour in sugar while continuing to beat until thickened and light-colored. Beat in milk, then sift together flour with baking powder, and fold into yolks along with cooled apricot mixture, walnuts, and egg whites until combined.
• Pour into prepared pan, and bake in the middle or bottom of the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Loosen the cake by running a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert cake onto a plate, then place another plate on the cake bottom, and flip right-side-up; cool completely before serving.