Apricot-Cashew Cake

Ingredients:

For the batter:

250 g (2 sticks) of butter

150 g sugar 

5 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 package vanilla sugar 

1 pinch of salt 

350 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder 

100 g cashew nuts 

500 g (1 pound) fresh apricots or 1 can apricots

For the topping:

100 ml apricot liquor 

200 ml whipping cream

1 Greek yogurt vanilla 

50 ml apricot liquor 

Preparation:

1. Prepare apricots: Cut fresh apricots in half, remove pit, the dice apricot halves. For canned apricots, drain the juice, the dice apricot halves.

2. Remove 24 cashews, then chop the remaining cashews. Grease baking form and preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

3. Using an electric hand mixer whisk butter until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla extract or sugar and salt. Whisk until sugar does no longer crunch. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk for at least 1/2 minute per egg.

4. Mix all-purpose flour and baking powder. Sift mixture into a new bowl, then add flour in two portions into batter.

5. Spread batter evenly in baking dish. Sprinkle apricot and cashew pieces over the batter. Bake cake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).

6. Remove cake from oven. Brush the hot cake with apricot liquor, then let cake cool down and cut into pieces.

7. Whip cream until fully stiff. Mix yoghurt and apricot liquor. Fold whipped cream into yoghurt. Fill piping bag with yoghurt mixture and decorate each piece of the cake with some cream, then add a cashew on top.

Comments:

1. I didn't have any apricot liquor, so I mixed a little apricot jam with vodka. Since vodka is very neutral it takes on the taste of the apricots. Alternatively, if you use canned apricots you can use the apricot juice.

2. Make sure to use a very dry Greek yogurt. Any additional liquid will turn the whipped cream liquid. Also, avoid overmixing the yoghurt when adding the liquor or when folding in the whipped cream.