Nigel Slater Apricot Cake...

I've taken this from Appetite by Nigel Slater and it's called A simple cake to serve with summer fruit.

Ingredients 250g butter, 250g caster sugar, a lemon (unwaxed), 75g ground almonds, 100g plain flour, 100g soft dried apricots, 4 large free range lightly beaten eggs.

You'll need a shallow 23cm cake tin lined with baking parchment or greaseproof paper and to set the oven at 180degrees C or gas mark 4.

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until white and fluffy. Grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze its juice. Mix the ground almonds and flour together and whizz the apricots in a food processor until finely chopped.

Add the eggs to the butter a little at a time with the beater on slow. Turn the machine off and add the lemon zest and a third of the almonds and flour, then turn the mixer on slow until the dry ingredients are all mixed in.

Add the second and then the third lot of almonds and flour, switching the machine off each time otherwise you will get a heavy cake.

With the machine still on slow mix in the lemon juice and the apricots. Transfer to the lined cake tin, preferably with a rubber spatula and gently smooth the top as you go. Bake until firm and a skewer comes out of the middle clean (about 35/40 mins).

I served this with a fruit compote made with raspberries, strawberrys, blueberries and redcurrants (all frozen) mixed with sugar and boiled with a cup of water and thick creme fraiche!