Italian Bread and Biscuits Recipes - Apricot Loaf (Pagnotta all' Albicocca) Recipe

Ingredients

• 225 g/8 oz/1 cup unsalted (sweet) butter, softened

• 200 g/7 oz/scant 1 cup caster (superfine) sugar

• 2 eggs, well beaten

• 6 ripe apricots, stoned (pitted), skinned and mashed

• 300 g/11 oz/2 1/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted

• 1.5 ml/1/4 tsp salt

• 5 ml/1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

• 75 g/3 oz/3/4 cup chopped almonds

• 5 ml/1 tsp melted butter, for greasing

• 2.5 ml/1/2 tsp plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting

---

Method:

1. Cream the softened butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs and apricots. Mix together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda.

2. Fold into the butter mixture with the nuts. Turn into a greased and floured loaf tin (pan).

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for approximately 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

4. Cool for 10 minutes and turn out on to a rack and leave to cool completely. Serve sliced.