Dried apricot and pecan cake with a dash of rum

This is a super fast and easy recipe. Perfect for those busy days when you can't spare any time for elaborate recipes but just have to kill that craving! The cake is light and crumbly and perfect for your afternoon cup of tea.

Ingredients

1 cup     vegetable oil
1 cup     sugar
3             eggs
2 tsp      vanilla
2 cups   all purpose flour
1 tsp      baking soda
1 tsp      salt
300 gr    dried apricots
200 gr    pecans
1 cup     hot water
200 ml   rum

Instructions
Make sure you preheat your oven at 170 C (325 F) since this recipe is super fast and easy so your cake will be ready for the oven before you know it. 

Prepare your preferred baking tin, grease with vegetable shortening and dust with flour or simply line it with parchment paper.

Chop up your dried apricots and add the cup of hot water, leave to sit until cooled. Drain apricots and set the strained liquid aside. Chop up pecans and set aside.

Mix flour with salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Place oil and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix at medium speed until blended. Then add the eggs, vanilla and the liquid you set aside from the apricots and mix well.
Gradually add the flour mixture to your mixing bowl while still mixing at medium speed. Mix until well combined. Now simply add your chopped op pecans and apricots and mix until you have a well blended batter.

Pour batter in baking tin and place in oven. Bake for 80 minutes at 170 C (325 F or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edges. Drizzle rum on top while still hot and leave to cool further. Once properly cooled you can dust with powdered sugar or glaze it with some apricot jam for a nice glossy look.

Serve with puff of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it into a proper desert, or simply have it with a nice cup of tea.