A picture of a cooked loaf cake on a red and white folded teatowel with a knife next to it

Apricot, Apple and Pecan Loaf

15 minutes - 30 minutes

This recipe is from Delia's Cakes.

Everyone loves this cake, which is rather special, full of good wholesome ingredients and so easy to make.

To ring the changes you could use soft prunes and walnuts in place of the apricots and pecans, plus one rounded teaspoon of mixed spice.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to make more loaf cake recipes in our Loaf Cakes lesson which incudes, Very Fruity Irish Tea Cake, Marmalade Cake and Banana and Walnut Cake. Just click the recipe image to play.

Got a question on Delia's recipes? Ask Lindsey

Ask a Question

About the Apricot, Pecan and Apple Loaf

Asked by: Cookie

I made the Apricot, pecan nut and apple loaf which is delicious. My problem is that it crumbles when I cut it. Any advice would be welcome. Many thanks. Cookie

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Cookie, There is a very high proportion of fruit in this loaf cake so it can break up when it’s sliced. To help reduce this make sure it’s well mixed so that all the fruit is coated in cake mixture and make sure it is completely cold before you attempt to slice it. Kind regards Lindsey

Method

First of all, when the oven has pre-heated, spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and toast them lightly for about 8 minutes, using a timer so that you don’t forget them.

You can also watch how to roast nuts in our Cookery School Video. After that remove them to a chopping board, let them cool a bit, then chop them roughly. Meanwhile take a large mixing bowl and sift the two flours, salt, baking powder and cinnamon into it, holding the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing (adding the bran from the sieve to the bowl as well). Then simply add the rest of the ingredients except the fruit and nuts. Using an electric hand whisk, begin to beat the mixture on a slow speed, then increase the speed to mix everything thoroughly till smooth.

Lightly fold in the apricots, apples and pecans. When everything’s folded in, add a drop more milk if necessary to give a mixture that drops easily off the spoon when you give it a sharp tap. Combine the cinnamon and sugar together. Pile the mixture into the lined tin, level the top with the back of a tablespoon and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar. Bake the loaf on a lower shelf so the top of the tin is aligned with the centre of the oven for about an hour, then cover loosely with a piece of foil and leave to bake for a further 15–30 minutes or until the cake feels springy in the centre. When it’s cooked, remove it from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire cooling rack, leaving it in its liner.

Let it get completely cold before transferring to a cake tin.