Can I Use Fresh Apricots For The Apricot Almond Cake?

Our answer

Nigella's Apricot Almond Cake With Rosewater And Cardamom is a damp, fragrant cake that is made with dried apricots that have been simmered until soft enough to process to a puree.

Unfortunately we can't recommend using fresh apricots as an alternative as it is difficult to control the liquid levels with fresh apricots. Even if they are cooked to a puree, the fresh fruits are likely to contain more liquid than a puree made from the dried versions. In addition, drying the apricots intensifies their sweetness and flavour and both of these qualities will be different if fresh apricots are used. So we would suggest using dried apricots for the cake and using fresh apricots in a tart or crumble - you could use the crumble topping from Nigella's Jumbleberry Crumble.