Apricot & almond Upside-Down pudding

MUNCH RATING: 2/5

Steve’s Mum bought a load of apricots from the market in Dorking and I knew that they wouldn’t get eaten unless they were put into a cake! So I found this recipe to use up all of the apricots and even though we weren’t too keen on the fruit as they were a bit sour, we loved the cake part! So next time I’ll use a different fruit as the sponge was lovely and light and was lovely with custard!

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: upper-middle
• You will need: 8 or 9 inch shallow loose bottomed tin, lightly greased

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoon clear honey
• 450g (1lb) apricots, peeled, halved and pitted*
• 110g (4oz) butter, softened (I used Stork)
• 125g (4½ oz) caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 110g (4oz) self raising flour
• 100g (3½ oz) ground almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Spread the honey over the base of the tin.
3. Arrange the apricot halves over the base of the tin cut side down.
4. Put the butter and sugar into a food processor and whizz together until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs with a tablespoon of flour and whizz to combine, then add the rest of the flour and the ground almonds.
6. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and spread it out to cover the fruit.
7. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the edges. Place a large plate on top of the tin, invert quickly and lift the tin away.

* The recipe didn’t specify the apricots should be peeled, but I just thought it would be nicer without the skins! I just treated them like tomatoes, by cutting a cross on the bottom of the fruit and pouring boiling water over them, then plunging them into cold water. The skins came off really easily.