food hits and misses

Everyone knows I'm a big fan of afternoon tea - especially if there are scones involved. Morning tea seems a bit more difficult, but this morning, after a text advising that a friend was coming to visit in 45 minutes, I managed to get my act together.

So what to make when you've only got a small window of opportunity and a small person to get sorted out? I checked the pantry, saw a bag of dried apricots, and decided to experiment with them in a cake.

Apricot and coconut cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tspn coconut essence
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups SR flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 20 cm ring tin or 18 cm sandwich pan. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add the coconut essence and fruit and mix to combine. Add the flout and milk alternately, one third at a time. Place the batter in the prepared cake tin and bake for around 35 - 40 minutes until golden on top. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

We ate the cake while it was still warm. I think it would make an excellent steamed pudding, served with creme anglaise.