Author Notes
Years ago a friend and neighbor gifted me a wonderful apricot fruit cake chock full of pecans and laced with orange liqueur. I never obtained the recipe and have lost touch with my friend and so I set out to make a bread similar to her cake. This one is not too sweet and is rather dense but is reminiscent of hers..... —inpatskitchen
Ingredients
-
15 ounces
dried apricots, diced
-
2 cups
coarsely chopped pecans
-
2 cups
plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
-
2 teaspoons
baking powder
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1 cup
softened butter
-
1 cup
granulated sugar
-
1/4
cup light brown sugar
-
5
eggs
-
1 tablespoon
plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
-
1/3 cup
Triple Sec
-
1
large orange, zested and juiced
-
1/2 cup
orange marmalade
Directions
-
Pre heat your oven to 325F. Toss the diced apricots and chopped nuts with the 2 teaspoons of flour and set aside.
-
Whisk the 2 cups of flour, the baking powder and salt together in a small mixing bowl.
-
In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and two sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and then while still mixing, add the vanilla, Triple Sec, orange zest and orange juice. I use an electric hand mixer for this.
-
Add the flour mixture a little at a time, while still using the electric mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give everything one last stir. Stir in the apricot and nut mixture.
-
Oil three 4x8 inch loaf pans and divide the mixture between them. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes and then check for doneness. The loaves may need up to 10 minutes longer, depending on your oven. Remove from the oven and cool.
-
Once the loaves are cooled, heat the marmalade in a small sauce pan or in the microwave until liquified. Pass through a fine mesh strainer. Brush the tops of the loaves with the strained marmalade.
I think I get my love for food and cooking from my mom, who was an amazing cook. She would start baking and freezing a month before Christmas in order to host our huge open house on Christmas afternoon. I watched and I learned...to this day I try not to procrastinate when it comes to entertaining.
My cooking style is pretty much all over the place, although I'm definitely partial to Greek and Italian cuisine. Oh yes, throw a little Cajun in there too!
See what other Food52ers are saying.