APRICOT, CHAMOMILE AND ALMOND CAKE

1. Preheat the oven to 160c, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the ground almonds over evenly. Bake for around 5 to 8 minutes until the almonds are fragrant. Leave to cool.

2. Grease 2 x 8 inch cake tins with vegan butter or flavourless oil and line the bottoms with greaseproof parchment paper.

3. Melt the butter over a Bain-marie or in the microwave and then leave to cool.

4. Into a separate bowl sift together the cooled almonds, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.

5. To the melted butter add the oat milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Transfer the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until evenly combined. Pour equal amounts of batter into each cake tin and then bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for around 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

6. For the jam add the teabags to a jug and pour over 75ml of boiling water. Leave to steep for around 5 minutes.

7. Chop the apricots into approximately 1½cm cubes and add to a medium sized pan followed by the chamomile tea and sugar. Place pan on a medium heat and cook for around 20 minutes stirring frequently until the fruit has broken down. Leave to cool.

8. For the cream add all the ingredients to a large bowl and whip together until it holds peaks.

9. To assemble,place one layer of sponge onto a cake board or plate. Layer on a thin coat of cream followed by a generous layer of the jam (you won’t need it all) and top with the second layer of cake. Use a palete knife to crumb coat the cake in a thin layer of cream and use a cake scraper to smooth the edges. Refrigerate for around an hour to firm up a little.

10. When the cake is cooled cover the cake all over in the remaining cream. Use a palete knife to make a rough textured pattern on the surface. Finish decorating by dotting fresh chamomile flowers all over.