In the Greek Orthodox Church there are many days in the year that we fast from meat and dairy. But Greeks are infamous for their sweet tooth and we don’t like going without cake. I worked at many different variations of ingredients until I settled on this recipe for what is a delicious cake.
The photo shows the cake drizzled with tahini and honey but the apricot jam is equally delicious and makes the cake suitable for plant based diets too.
The cake is moist enough to be served as dessert also if accompanied by a fresh apricot compote, extra toasted almond flakes and even double cream if serving non-vegans.
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
For the cake
- 125ml extra virgin olive oil
- 75ml sunflower oil
- 125g icing sugar
- 75g ground almonds
- 75g dried apricots
- 60ml brandy
- ½ orange, zest only
- ½ lemon, zest only
- 225g self-raising flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
For the topping
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2-3 tbsp apricot jam
- 1 tbsp almond flakes
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Method
Preheat the oven to 1800C.
Grease and dust with flour a pretty cake tin.
Put the almonds and sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium to high heat shaking the pan from time to time to avoid them burning. Empty on a small plate and keep to the side.
Finely slice three apricots and reserve for the topping. Roughly chop the rest and soak them in a bowl with the brandy for 15 minutes.
In a bowl sieve the flour with the baking powder.
In another larger bowl, whisk the olive and sunflower oil with the sieved icing sugar for a few minutes. Add the zest and chopped apricots with half the brandy. Mix with a spatula and gradually fold the flour in. Use the remaining brandy to soak the sliced apricots for the topping.
Spoon the cake mix into the cake tin and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 1600C and continue baking for another 50-55 minutes. Test that a thin blade knife or skewer come out clean when inserted in the cake. Leave to cool for 10 minutes and turn onto a pretty plate. Add 1 tbsp of sunflower oil to loosen the tahini if too thick and drizzle over the cake.
In a small saucepan heat the apricot jam with 2 tbsp of water to thin. Drain the sliced apricots and use the brandy to mix into the apricot jam. Stir the jam and drizzle over the tahini. Finish by sprinkling the cake with the toasted almond flakes, sesame seeds and the sliced apricots.