Abricot Cake with Meringue

Apart from my favourite fruit cake with streussel, this is another cake that I have baked for thousand times and that I swear by. It is rather easy yet great combination of dense cacao batter and tangy-sweet apricots covered by light meringue.




We will need:

4 yolks
1 egg
200 g (1 and 1/3 cups) of all purpose flour
200 g (1 cup) of caster sugar
200 ml (4/5 cup) of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of cacao
3 tablespoons of milk (or use rum or watter if ou have problem with lactose)

Meringue:
4 egg whites
120 g (3/4 cup) of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice (optional)

1 can of apricots
apricot jam

Recept v slovenčine

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Prepare all ingrediets ahead, line a (cca 24x34 cm / 9x13 inch) pan with a parchment paper.  Mix together flour, baking powder and cocaa

2. Carefully devide yolks and egg whites, Beat together yolks, the egg and sugar. Then add oil, milk and flour mix. Be warned - the batter is rather stiff (not runny at all) and you will have to spread it with a spatula on the parchment paper.

3. Bake at 180°C/350°F for about 30 minutes.

4. In the meantime, drain the apricots, and mix approx. 3 tablespoons of the apricot jam with the juice from the abricot can. Place the bowl with the egg whites over the boiling water and beat until the egg whites are stiff and the tops are forming. Then carefully and in small amounts add sugar. At the end, add lemon juice.

5. Take the cake from the oven and spread the apricot glaze over it. Then put the apricots and pour the meringue over it. Put the cake back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes until the top gets slightly brown.

Let it cool and then enjoy. At the begining, the batter is a little it dry. But give it and hour and the apricots and jam will nicely moist it.