A family heirloom recipe for traditional apricot or plum kuchen (cake). I remember tasting this as a child, sitting on the scratchy horsehair sofa in my Granny’s living room and thinking it was the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten. The tart fruit contrasts beautifully with the sweet, light, lemon-scented sponge.
- 170g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 170g caster sugar
- 170g flour
- 3 eggs
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- A little milk (if needed)
- Apricots or plums, pitted and cut in half
- Granulated sugar to sprinkle on top
- Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan (180C). Grease and flour a 9″ square cake tin (although there’s no reason this cake can’t be round, for some reason it was always square in my Granny’s house)
- Separate the eggs
- Beat the yolks and sugar until pale yellow and thick
- Add butter and lemon zest and beat again
- Add flour and lemon juice a spoonful at a time, alternately between them (using a little milk if the consistency is too thick – it should be thick, dropping off only spoon reluctantly
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks
- Fold the egg whites into the batter
- Spoon into the cake tin and place halved fruit, cut side upwards on top of batter
- Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and bake for about 35 mins
- Cool thoroughly before cutting into squares to serve
Sophie cooks 