Fresh Apricot, Nutmeg and Custard Traybake
Photography Josh Griggs.
A favourite from my younger years, my mother loved using fresh fruit in her baking and this worked both as a dessert, with softly whipped cream, and as a snacking cake for after school. Thick creamy custard is baked into the sponge to give it a lovely texture while the apricots ensure there’s tangy fruit in every bite.
Makes: 1 Tray Cake
INGREDIENTS
1 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
250 grams butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 large eggs, lightly whisked
½ cup store-bought thick custard
300 grams plain flour
100 grams ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
TO ASSEMBLE
1 cup store-bought thick custard
6 small, ripe apricots, quartered and pitted
2 teaspoons raw sugar
METHOD
EQUIPMENT: Grease a 28cm x 22cm shallow baking tin and fully line with baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.
BATTER: Put the sugar and orange zest in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the sugar looks like damp orange sand. Add the butter and vanilla bean paste and beat until light and pale, about 8 minutes. Beat in the eggs one by one until well combined then beat in the custard.
Whisk all the remaining batter ingredients together, add to the bowl and beat for 1 minute.
TO ASSEMBLE: Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Make shallow hollows in the cake batter with the back of a teaspoon and fill with the custard. Top with the apricots and sprinkle over the sugar.
Bake for 50 minutes or until risen and golden and the cake is firm in the centre when lightly pressed. Cool completely in the tin.
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126
We start by sharing what’s on the dish team’s radar, what we’re watching, listening to and reading. Harry Butterfield puts a twist on his Nonna’s agnolotti, Malissa Fedele reminds us of the importance of fibre, and Phoebe Holden fulfils a long-held dream, sitting down with Yotam Ottolenghi. Autumn is an abundant time, we make the most with pumpkin, kūmara, cabbage, cauliflower, feijoas, apples and pears. We’re dishing up dinners for two, including a Chicken Dumpling Lasagne, alongside easy weeknight meals. We honour our mums, revisit timeless classics, and add a little baking challenge. This issue, we encourage you to slow down, to enjoy writing your shopping list, and spending time in the kitchen. Because even when life feels relentless, there’s always space to share something delicious.