Apricot Crumble Cake

Made with dried apricots, this sweet yeast cake has a crunchy almond topping and a mascarpone filling. Recipe serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sachet rapid rise dried yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
2 ounces (50 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg yolk
Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1 1/2 ounces (40 g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Filling:
1/4 cup apricot jam or conserve
8 ounces (250 g) mascarpone
8 teaspoons caster sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Method:

1. Grease a large baking tray. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the yeast, sugar and apricots.
2. Melt the butter in a small pan and stir in the milk. Leave to cool until lukewarm, then stir into the flour mixture, using a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg yolk and mix to form a soft dough, adding more milk if required.
3. Put onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until smooth. Shape the dough into an 7 inch (18 cm) round, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Place on the prepared baking tray. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
4. For the topping, sift the flour into a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and almonds.
5. Brush the top of the dough with egg white and place the topping evenly onto the dough.
6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Bake for 35 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. Using a serrated knife, slice the cake in half horizontally.
8. For the filling, spread the jam over the bottom half. Mix together the mascarpone, sugar and lemon juice. Spread over the jam. Replace the top of the cake and serve.

Tip: Sweet yeast doughs sometimes need more rising time than plain doughs.