Another Christmas is over, another year is coming to a close. The festive cookies that we baked before Christmas are still in sufficient supply, but we have already finished cream-filled Honey Dough Slices and Štedrák – the traditional Christmas cake that would loosely translate as Generous Cake into English.

To sweeten the last day of the 2023, which is called Silvester here in Slovakia, I have decided to bake this easy but delicious apricot cake. A dozen jars of apricot jam made in the summer are still sitting in the pantry together with a couple of bottled apricots preserved in their syrup. Bio quality, with no chemicals or additives.

In the recipe below, the syrup from a 0,7 litre bottle of apricots is used to make a glaze for the top of the cake.   

Glazed Apricot Cake with Whipped Cream Swirls

For the dough:

• 300 g flour
• 200 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 200 ml oil
• 200 ml milk
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• a bottle (0,7 l) preserved halved apricots

For the glaze:

• 1 cup syrup from the bottled apricots
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons vanilla custard powder
• 200 ml water

To decorate:

• 150 ml whipping cream
• grated dark chocolate

Instructions:

1. To make the dough, mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Break the eggs into the mixture, pour in the oil and the milk. Mix together until smooth and well-combined. Put the batter aside.
2. Strain the apricots through a sieve or a colander, but do not discard the bottling syrup. You will need it to make the glaze.
3. Grease a baking tray of 39x30cm (≅15x11in) and dust it with a thin layer of flour. Pour the batter into the tray and level with a spatula. Place the halved apricots around the tray, pressing them lightly into the batter. Put in the oven preheated to 180°C (356°F) and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top of the cake turns golden brown and the dough starts coming off the edges of the baking tray.
4. To make the glaze, put the syrup reserved from the apricots in a saucepan. Stir in the sugar and place over a medium heat. While the syrup is warming, mix the vanilla custard powder with the water until smooth. When the syrup is hot and the sugar has dissolved, pour in the vanilla mixture. Stir until the fruit mixture thickens, then pour over the top of the cake. Let cool.
5. Place the whipping cream into a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Cut the cake into bars. Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag and make swirls on top of each cake bar. Grate some chocolate over the cake and serve immediately.

Tip: It’s a good idea to only decorate as many cake bars as you need per serving. The unused whipped cream can be stored in the fridge for about two days, but it has to be placed in an airtight container.

This is the perfect dessert for a Silvester night. Depending on the cut size, it provides enough servings for up to 30 guests.

Happy New Year to everyone!