THIS MONTH wi h Gurde p L yal

Our trends expert shares a recipe featuring versatile Greek mastic, and explores the hidden gems of the Suffolk seaside

Apricot, orange and raspberry cake with mastic

SERVES 8 | PREP 25 MINS PLUS COOLING COOK 1 HR 5 MINS | EASY

160ml good-quality olive oil, plus extra for the tin 50ml fresh orange juice, plus 2 tsp zest (2-3 oranges) 225g golden caster sugar

2 tsp mastic powder

125g dried apricots, finely diced

150g self-raising flour

50g ground almonds

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 eggs

125g raspberries whipped cream, to serve

1 Heat the oven to 185C/165C fan/gas 4 with a baking sheet inside on the middle shelf. Brush a 20cm round springform cake tin all over with oil and line the bottom with baking paper. Tip the orange zest and juice, 75g of the sugar, the mastic powder and 50ml of water into a pan. Bring to the boil, then add the dried apricots, mixing well. Simmer over a medium heat for 6-8 mins or until the liquid has reduced by half and there is a honey-like orange syrup coating the fruit. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool completely.

2 Whisk together the flour, almonds, bicarb and a pinch of salt in a separate large bowl. Whisk together the eggs and remaining 150g of sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment for 4-5 mins on a medium-high speed until thick and ribbon-like when the beaters are lifted out. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until it is all incorporated. Carefully fold in the dry ingredients until no patches of flour remain, being careful not to overmix. Gently fold in the syrupy apricots.

3 Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then scatter over the raspberries. Bake on the hot baking sheet in the oven for 50-55 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake is dark golden brown on top. Remove from the tin, invert onto a plate, remove the baking paper and cool slightly. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

PER SERVING 468 kcals | fat 25.7G | saturates 3.7G carbs 50.6G | sugars 36.1G | fibre 3G | protein 6.9G | salt 0.4G