Apricot Butter Food

HUNGARIAN LEKVAR APRICOT OR PRUNE BUTTER

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the dried apricots or prunes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and continue to cook until the fruit is soft, adding more water as necessary.
• Remove from the heat and place the mixture in a food processor or blender ; purée the fruit until it has a smooth texture. (You can also use an immersion blender directly in the pot.) Return it to the saucepan and add the sugar; taste for desired sweetness, and add more sugar if necessary. Cook until the lekvar is thick.
• To can the fruit butter, place the hot lekvar in hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Cover with hot sterilized lids and rings.
• Process in a water bath for 10 minutes. Remove to the counter and allow to cool before storing in a cool, dry, dark place.
• Enjoy.

APRICOT BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter a 23cm-deep cake tin (preferably not loose-based, see tip below) and line the base with silicone or baking parchment. Mix the topping ingredients and spread over the base of the tin.
• Mix the milk and vanilla together. Put the sugar and eggs into a large bowl and whisk with a tabletop or hand electric mixer until the mixture is thick, pale and increased in volume, about 5 mins. Test it is ready by lifting the whisk blades - if the mixture briefly leaves a trail, you are ready to proceed.
• Add one-third of the flour and whisk slowly to incorporate, then one-third of the milk and mix again. Repeat twice more until all the flour and milk is added. Slowly whisk in the melted butter.
• Halve and stone the apricots. Place, cut-side down, in the base of the tin. Pour the cake batter over the top and slide into the oven. Bake for 1-1¼ hrs until the cake is firm to the touch and springs back when lightly pressed.
• Cool the cake in the tin for 20 mins, then carefully remove from the tin, peel off the lining paper and serve warm or cold.

CROCKPOT APRICOT BUTTER

Steps:

• 1. Wash, peel, pit fruit. Puree in small batches using blender or food processor. Pour pureed apricots into crock pot as you work. Add sugar to fruit. Add spices and lemon juice. Mix well. Cover and cook on High for 8 to 10 hours. Remove cover about half way through cooking. Stir occasionally. Store in refrigerator, can, or freeze.
• 2. IF CANNING: Fill hot, sterilized jars to 1/4 inch headspace; remove air bubbles, wipe rims, affix lids and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. IF FREEZING: Pour into sterilized cans or boxes, leaving 1/4-inch headspace and freeze. TO USE: Use in any recipe that calls for apple butter. Great on warm biscuits, fresh home made bread, and breakfast toast!

SILKY APRICOT BUTTER

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine apricots and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until apricots are soft, about 20 minutes.
• Working in batches, transfer apricot mixture to a food mill or food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree just until a uniform texture is achieved. Do not liquify. Measure 6 cups of apricot puree.
• In a clean large stainless steel saucepan, combine apricot puree and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and holds its shape on a spoon.
• Prepare canner, jars and lids.
• Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and place lids.
• Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes then remove jars, cool and store.

APRICOT BUTTER

Steps:

• Combine the butter, apricot preserves, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Serve at room temperature.

APRICOT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Simmer apricots, water, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved and liquid is reduced by about half, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add rum, then cool slightly. Purée in a food processor or blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderate speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture and mix at low speed until just combined. Form dough into a log and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Divide dough into 8 pieces. Put 1 piece of dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, then fold plastic wrap over dough. Form piece into an 8-inch rope (dough will be very soft). Transfer in plastic wrap to 1 of 2 ungreased baking sheets, then remove plastic wrap. Pat rope into an 8- by 1 1/2-inch rectangle. Make more ropes and pat into rectangles in same manner, arranging them about 2 inches apart. Make a shallow trough lengthwise down center of each rectangle with your finger and spread apricot pureé in trough. Bake in batches in middle of oven until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Whisk together confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and enough water (about 2 1/2 teaspoons) to make a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle icing over rectangles and cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick strips. Let stand until icing is set, about 15 minutes.
• Cooks' note:
• • Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax or parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

APRICOT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan combine the apricots, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, and 2/3 cup of water, simmer the mixture for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by half, and add the rum. Let the mixture cool slightly and in a blender purée it.
• In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together the butter, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, beat in the vanilla and the egg, and beat the mixture until it is combined well. Add the flour mixture and beat the dough until it is just combined. Form the dough into a log, chill it for 1 hour, and divide it into 8 pieces.
• Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, on a sheet of plastic wrap form the pieces into 8-inch ropes, wrapping the plastic wrap around the ropes to keep the dough from sticking, and on 2 baking sheets pat the rope into a 8- by 1 1/2-inch rectangles. Make a canal down the center of each rectangle with your finger and spread the apricot purée in the canals. Bake the rectangles in 2 batches in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden, transfer them to racks, and let them cool. In a small bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, the lemon juice, and enough water to make a thick but pourable icing, drizzle the icing over the rectangles diagonally into 1-inch strips. The cookies keep in an airtight container for 1 week.

APRICOT HONEY BUTTER

Steps:

• Grate rind and squeeze juice from lemons; you'll need 2 tablespoons grated rind and 1/2 cup lemon juice.
• Combine apricots, lemon rind, water, lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Don't use aluminum; stainless steel is good.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat to low and STIRRING FREQUENTLY, keep at a low boil for 35 - 40 minutes or until apricots are tender.
• CAREFULLY pour into blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return to saucepan.
• Add honey; stir and return to boil. Again reduce heat and cook, UNCOVERED, at a low boil until very thick. STIR FREQUENTLY.
• Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, add hot lids and rings.
• Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes OR refrigerate and use within 1 month.

FRUITCAKE WITH APRICOT BUTTER ICING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin with a little bit of the butter, then line with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Wrap a couple of sheets of newspaper around the outside of the tin, then secure with string.
• In a food processor, whizz the almonds with the flour until the mix resembles crumbs. Beat the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one, then fold in the flour and almonds, dried fruit and brandy. Scrape into the tin, level the surface and bake for 1 hr 15 mins, until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool in the tin.
• When the cake is completely cold, make the icing quickly by beating the butter, jam and icing sugar until pale. Don't allow the butter to get too warm or overbeat as the icing might split. Swirl all over the cake, then leave in a cool place to set (but not the fridge).