APRICOT ALMOND CAKE WITH ROSEWATER AND CARDAMOM

Dear all,

it has been a long time since I last wrote/published something. When I first started this blog I felt obliged to do so. You see there are so many people I know who do it so I thought I can too. The time however, was not right for me.
So here I am about an year later, giving blogging another go. And what better occasion than a scrumptious apricot and cardamom cake? I watched Simply Nigella on BBC2 a couple of nights ago and I was inspired. This cake looked so lush
I wanted to have a bite straight away. I have always enjoyed watching Nigella cook and she did not disappoint. I am looking forward to the second episode in the series. Here is the link to the recipe and method: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/apricot-almond-cake-with-rosewater-and-cardamom

Do not panic if you do not have a food processor or you have one which is quite small, like me. I used it to blend the apricots and then put everything into a big mixing bowl and used a hand held electric mixer. You end up with more washing up this way but it is a way round it.
To tell you the truth I was very lucky with this recipe. Just the day before I found a pack of dried apricots in my cupboard and wondered what to do with them (my kids won't eat them). I also have loads of fine polenta - I am Bulgarian and there is this absolutely gorgeous dessert we make back home. When I first moved to the UK about 10 years ago now I couldn't find polenta anywhere. So I started bringing some back every time I went back home. Watch this space as I will be making Gris Halva very soon and will tell you all about it. These days you can buy polenta in most supermarkets however, it is not fine and I personally do not like using it when making desserts. I am very grateful to my mum who made me take some Bulgarian rose water when we were visiting back in the summer. It smells divine and is simply something most Bulgarians have around the house.
Here is a picture of the cake before it goes in the oven :

 

 

I was nicely surprised when both kids wanted to have a piece of the cake. They are not the most adventurous when it comes to trying out new foods so I happily jumped at the chance to give them something so different than their normal pudding. They both loved it! Great result:) My daughter did not like the apricot on top so her brother was more than pleased to have 2!

 

This is a surprisingly light cake. I had to cover mine after 25 minutes (I should've probably done so after only 20) but it baked evenly. I used a sponge tin and was a bit worried about how it would come out. But I shouldn't have been. Because you let it cool completely in the tin there were no problems at all.

It is definitely worth making it, it is easy and the result is simply delicious!

 

Hope you enjoy it.

 

XoXo

Desi in the kitchen