Apricot Sandwich Tea Cakes Food

APRICOT TEA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Grease and flour an 8 inch round cake pan.
• Warm the milk and allow the tea to steep for a few minutes - add chopped apricots to the tea-infused milk to soak.
• Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in color and texture.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Now add the remaining dry ingredients and 3 tbsp of the tea-infused milk being careful to reserve the chopped apricots for later. Stir to combine.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan.
• Sprinkle batter with chopped, soaked apricots and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• To make the glaze, stir together powdered sugar and the remaining tea-infused milk. Add additional milk if necessary to get the proper glaze consistency.
• Allow cake to cool until just warm before drizzling the cake with the glaze.
• If desired, sprinkle with sliced almonds and serve immediately with your favorite tea.

APRICOT BREAKFAST CAKE

Steps:

• Brew one cup of tea and pour in small bowl over chopped apricot pieces; stir in ground coriander; allow to soak and plump for one hour; strain apricots of liquid (there will be what appears to be sediment in the liquid - not to worry, it is the coriander and we want it!), reserving liquid; there should be about ½ cup of apricot tea, if it is less, add enough water to make it equal ½ cup
• Preheat oven to 350F and butter and flour a bundt pan (I used a silicone pan - no need to butter and flour and cake slipped right out after cooling for about 25 minutes)
• Beat butter together with sugar until creamy and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes; add baking powder, extracts, milk powder and zests; alternate additions of flour with apricot tea and eggs; finally, dredge apricot pieces and golden raisins in a little flour and mix them into the batter
• Spoon batter into prepared bundt pan; bake for 50-60 minutes in preheated oven, or until a sharp knife inserted into highest part of cake comes out clean (I covered my cake loosely with a piece of aluminum foil after 30 minutes); remove from oven, cool approximately 20 minutes and turn out onto serving platter; allow to cool completely and dust with icing sugar
• Note: This cake (like most cakes incorporating dried fruit) is even better after a couple of days

VICTORIA SANDWICH - CLASSIC ENGLISH SPONGE CAKE FOR TEA TIME

Steps:

• The measurements for this recipe are equal amounts of sugar, flour and fat to the weight of the eggs; Recipezaar will not allow me to post that as a measurement. Therefore, weigh the eggs first - if the eggs weigh 8 ounces, you will use 8 ounces of sugar, 8 ounces of butter or margarine and 8 ounces of flour. If the eggs weigh 6 ounces, all the other ingredients will be 6 ounces - easy!
• Set oven Gas 4 160C (fan oven), 180C or 360F: grease and base line the bottom of 2 x 8" sandwich tins - cake tins.
• Cream margarine or butter together with the sugar, until light and fluffy.
• Beat the eggs, and then add them to the mixture, gradually and beating well after each addition.
• Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture with a metal spoon.
• Divide equally between the 2 prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes in the middle of the oven.
• Remove and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from the tins and fill with raspberry jam (and cream if using) when cold, to avoid the cream melting or the jam seeping into the sponge.
• A light dusting of caster sugar or icing sugar on the top will finish it.
• Place on an attractive cake stand or plate, and serve in dainty wedges with freshly brewed tea.
• Cook's Notes.
• If you use butter remove from the fridge to soften before using. This is not necessary with soft margarine.
• If large eggs are used they may weigh 7 ½ ozs/210g. If so make sure you use this weight for the other ingredients.
• A smaller sandwich cake can be made with 2 medium eggs. Weight about 4 oz/55g. If so, use 2 x 7" sandwich tins and the cakes and the cakes will need less time in the oven - probably 20mins.
• Alternative measurements:.
• 3 eggs.
• 6 ounces soft margarine or butter.
• 6 ounces caster sugar.
• 6 ounces SR flour.
• Proceed as above for method.