Bahija's Moroccan Fruit Cake
Just one of the many incredible recipe's from my dear Moroccan friend, Bahija.
Serves 10
Ingredients
1 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup strained pineapple puree
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/3 cup dried apricots
Slivered almonds, toasted
Confectioners sugar
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 350F.
In a bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix until frothy and light. Add the olive oil and mix. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the eggs and mix gently. Pour into a greased 10-inch springform pan and bake until golden and a skewer goes into the center and comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
Let the cake cool. When the cake is cool, using a knife, cut the cake into two equal discs.
Place one of the pieces on a cake plate with the cut side up. Place the orange juice in a pan with the cinnamon and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar melts, 1 minute. Drizzle the mixture on the first cake to saturate it with the orange & cinnamon mixture. if you need to make holes in the cake to saturate it with the orange juice, use the tines of a fork.
Spread the pineapple puree on the cake.
Place the apricots in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and drain. Dice. Top the cake with the apricots and pears. Place the second layer of cake on top, cut side down and sprinkle the almonds onto the top. Dust with the confectioners' sugar.
