Apricot-Walnut Cakes
 
Yield: 15 cakes
Ingredients
  • 2 cups self-rising flour*
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts
  • 1 cup apricot jam, melted
  • 1 recipe Toffee Buttercream (recipe follows)
  • Garnish: fresh apricot slices
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Spray a 13-x-9-inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray with flour. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder, whisking well. Set aside.
  4. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and both sugars. Beat at high speed with an electric mixer until mixture is creamy, approximately 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at time, beating to combine. Add molasses and vanilla extract, beating well. Add flour mixture, and beat at low speed until flour has been incorporated, approximately 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add walnuts, stirring until incorporated.
  5. Spread batter into prepared pan,smoothing level with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply on countertop several times to release any air bubbles.
  6. Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, approximately 25 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes.
  7. Place a wire rack over cake pan, and invert cake onto rack. Let cool completely. (For decorating purposes, bottom of cake will be top of cake.)
  8. Using a long, serrated knife, trim ends from all sides of cake. Cut 15 (2¼-inch) squares from cake. (Use grids of wire cooling rack to aid in cutting squares.) Cut each cake square in half horizontally to create 30 cake layers.
  9. Place Toffee Buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a medium (Wilton #21) open-star tip.
  10. Pipe a border of buttercream onto cut sides of 15 bottom layers.
  11. Place a top layer of cake on each bottom layer, cut sides together. Pipe a decorative buttercream border around edges of top layer of each cake.
  12. Using an offset spatula, carefully and evenly spread melted apricot jam inside piped buttercream border.
  13. Garnish with apricot slices, if desired.
Notes
*We used King Arthur Self-Rising Flour.
Recipe by TeaTime Magazine at https://teatimemagazine.com/apricot-walnut-cakes-recipe/