Almond & Apricot Tea Cake, Soaked w/ Moroccan Simple Syrup

Looking back, it was a casual comment about apricots that turned my week upside down. “If you ever see Blenheim apricots, buy them!" I was told. "Call the Monterey Market  - that’s where I've found them.” Two trips to the East Bay and three recipes later, I’m here to pass along that good advice to you.

The apricots are small, but pack a mouthful of fleshy fruit. They have the perfect balance of sugar, tartness and acidity, similar to the exceptional quality of Moroccan Medjool dates. Which led me to look for a cake recipe incorporating a Middle Eastern flavor profile.

This tea cake by David Tanis in The New York Times sounded perfect. It is made with ground almonds and semolina flour and then saturated with a simple syrup where saffron, cardamom seeds and cinnamon take the lead. Just pull up a carafe of full-bodied black tea and you’re all set to enjoy a hearty cake that may gastronomically transport you half way around the world.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4 Persimmons*

Ingredients for the Almond Tea Cake & Moroccan Simple Syrup w/ Apricots:

Ingredients for the Almond Tea Cake:

1 cup finely ground blanched almonds (see Directions below), or use almond meal

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled, plus more to grease pan

1/2 cup semolina flour (or use gluten-free all purpose, or amaranth, or rice flour if preferred)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

4 eggs, beaten

Zest of 1 orange

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Ingredients for the Moroccan Simple Syrup w/ Apricots:

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Juice from 1/2 lemon (or more to taste)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey 

6 green cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

Pinch of crumbled saffron

About 12 Blenheim apricots, or other ripe apricots (or if using dried apricots, soften in boiling water and drain well)

Directions for Making the Almond Tea Cake & Moroccan Simple Syrup w/ Apricots:

Directions for Making the Almond Tea Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Butter or spray a 9 or 10 inch cake pan, line with parchment paper and butter again.

1. To blanch the almonds, place the shelled almonds in a medium-sized pot of boiling water for exactly 1 minute. Drain, let cool, and remove the thin outer skins by rubbing them off with your fingers. Pat dry with paper towels. Put the almonds in a food processor and finely grind (some very small almond pieces may remain).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, almonds, baking powder and salt. Whisk in eggs and slightly-cooled melted butter (if it's too hot, it will curdle the eggs). Add the orange and lemon zests and almond extract. Mix well and pour into the prepared pan.

3. Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean. At 20 minutes, rotate the cake 180º for more even baking. Check at 30 to 35 minutes for doneness. When baked through, invert the cake on a wire rack, remove the pan and parchment paper and let cool.

Directions for Making the Moroccan Simple Syrup Topping w/ Apricots: 

About 10 minutes before the cake is finished baking, prepare the syrup:

1. Add the orange and lemon juices, sugar, honey, cardamom, saffron and apricots in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes and then set aside. Note: the correct consistency of the syrup is just a little thicker than water; it is not a paste.

2. Place the cake on a serving plate. Poke holes all around the cake with the flat end of a wooden skewer. Pour the syrup mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Save the strained materials. Slowly pour the syrup, or use a brush, to saturate the cake with the syrup (I used about 2/3 of the syrup but would use more next time). Once the cake has cooled a bit, arrange the strained spices and apricots on the top of the cake in a design you like. Leave the cake for at least an hour to absorb the syrup, or even better, serve it the next day. 

Serve with hot or cold tea, or a dollop of ice cream. To store, place the cake in a covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days. It's one of those cakes that tastes better over time.

#apricots #almonds #saffron, #cinnamon #coriander #cake #desserts #recipes #almondflour #semolina #instarecipes #glutenfree #vegetarian #simplesyrup 

Recipe adapted from the New York Times post here.

A source for Blenheim apricots appeared in Good Eggs here.

For more information on Moroccan spices, see The Spruce Eats article here.

For Additonal Tea Cake Recipes, See Below:

Blood Orange, Ricotta, and
Almond Upside Down Cake 

Banana Snacking Cake w/
Coconut Cream Caramel Icing
& Maldon Salt Flakes (GF) (DF)

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.