Apricot and almond cake

I have had a slight obsession with cooking almond cakes at the moment, and in France there were loads of delicious apricots so I ended up making lots of different styles of cakes. They are really gooey and zesty and very tasty and everyone loved them.

This one was my favourite because I put apricots in the middle and on the top.

200g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

40g plain flour

4 eggs

zest of 1 orange

zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp apricot liqueur or cointreau

8 apricots

sliced almonds for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 170˚C.

Using an electric whisk cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy then mix in the eggs, zest and juice and booze and fold in the flour.

Slice the apricots in half and then slice each half into thirds and chuck into a bowl and sprinkle with some caster sugar and leave for 10 mins.

Pour half the cake mixture into a lined cake tin and layer on half the apricots, then pour the rest of the mixture on top and prettily arrange the rest of the apricots on top. Sprinkle on some sliced almonds and put in the oven. I don't have an exact time but it normally take about 45mins to an hour, as long as it's not burning then it's fine to stay in but you need to make sure the middle rises and when a skewer is inserted it should come out clean.

When ready leave to cool for at least an hour before turning out.

River cafe polenta, almond and lemon cake

This week has been a bit up and down with the weather, lots of rain and then an absolute scorcher yesterday in the 30˚s. Yesterday was an especially good day because not only did I get a little bit less pasty but I also stood up on my surfboard about 10 times!! I did almost die about twice getting absolutely smashed by waves and ended up with my hair looking a bit like a loo brush but very happy!! Since the weather has been crappy I made a huge cake, and I think this could be my newest most favourite cake I have ever made. I have been trawling through my River cafe books and there is so much amazing stuff so since I have all kinds of great ingredients on my door step I am going to go nuts and try loads this month. Serves 12 450g unsalted butter, softened 450g caster sugar 450g ground almonds 2 teaspoons good vanilla essence 6 free range eggs zest of 4 lemons juice of 1 lemon 225g polenta flour or fine semolina 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon of salt Preheat the oven to ...

Roast chicken and three rice salad

Another Ottolenghi salad which is really damn good, I just made this for 30 people which I'm not going to lie was a massive faff but if your making it for a normal amount of people it shouldn't be too bad. It's stuffed with all kinds of ingredients and has a warm asian flavour, perfect to take as a picnic salad. serves 8 1 small whole chicken 200g basmati rice 50g wild rice 50g brown rice 1 large onion, thinly sliced 6 spring onions, thinly sliced 4 mild red chillies, cut into thin strips small bunch coriander, chopped small bunch mint leaves, chopped large handful of rocket leaves, shredded salt pepper Dressing 65ml lemon juice 30ml sesame oil 30ml thai fish sauce 35ml olive oil Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Rub chicken with olive oil and season. Place in a roasting tin and put in the oven for 10 mins then lower the temperature to 190˚C and continue to roast for 50-60 mins until the chicken is cooked and juices run clear. Remove to cool and keep all the cooking juices for lat...

Fig, rocket and basil salad with goats cheese and prosciutto

This is the most simple salad to make and the combination of the basil, goats cheese, fig and prosciutto is amazing. Another nice thing to do is turn it into a canape by quartering the figs, putting a small dollop of goats cheese on, season, add a basil leaf and wrap in prosciutto. serves 5/6 as a Starter 1 bag Rocket 2 tubs of soft goats cheese/goats curd 1 Bunch of Basil 1 pack of Prosciutto/Parma ham 10 Figs For the dressing I just make a basic vinaigrette with a little bit of mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. And for the final touch you can either buy a bottle of balsamic reduction or make it yourself by boiling it in a pan until it becomes thicker, but still runny enough to squeeze through a bottle. Then do a swirl over and around the salad.

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