The Ingredients

1. 6oz Butter

2. 5 ½ oz Brown sugar

3. 1 Tea spoon vanilla essence

4. 2 x Eggs

5. 6oz self raising flour

6. 1 x Tea spoon ground nutmeg

7. 1/2 Tea spoon ground cinnamon

8. 9 ½ oz fresh Pumpkin

9. 4oz dried apricots

The Cake

1. Roughly cut the fresh pumpkin into cubes and place into a pot of salted water. Allow to boil for approximately 10 minutes or until soft. Remove from water and mash into a puree. Place to the side and allow to cool.
2. Cream the sugar and butter together (beat the butter into a bowl add suger and beat together until light and fluffy)
3. Whisk the eggs and slowly pour and beat into the creamed butter and sugar mix.
4. Beat in the vanilla essence.
5. Sift the flour to remove the lumps and mix the flour in to the mix.
6. mix in the pumpkin and apricots
7. grease and flour a baking tin (you can also place a circle of grease proof paper at the bottom if you wish as it can make it easier to get back out the tin - if you do remember to grease and flour the grease proof paper too)
8. pour the mixture into the baking tin (aprox tin size 2lbs)
9. Place in oven at about 180 for about 1 hour. when testing the sponge to see if it’s ready simpley use a small knife and push in to the middle of the cake and then remove - the knife should be nice and clean - if it has some moist or runny mixture on it then you need to cook for a little longer. If the top begins to go too dark all you need to do is place a sheet of grease proof on top of the cake to stop the direct heat against the sponge.

Once the sponge is cooked, Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Don’t try to remove from the tin until cool as the sponge will be too fragile and it’s also a lot easier than trying to hold than while still really hot.

Then simply serve with some warm custard or even just have a slice on its own with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

The perfect end to a perfect day.