A Spoonful of Sugar

Do you look longingly at jars of fruit in alcohol when in your local deli? And then wince at the price?

Me, too.

But no longer will you need to regretfully place that jar of plump, luxurious fruit back on the shelf and walk on. You can easily make these sweet delicacies at home for yourself and your friends. All you need is a microwave and half an hour of your time. (Obviously ingredients help, too.)

Dried apricots are simmered gently in an orange syrup until they plump up and are then liberally doused in Amaretto. Amaretto liqueur is a natural partner for apricots as the secret liqueur recipe itself contains cracked apricot kernels which--oddly enough--taste of almonds.

Over the course of a month--minimum soaking time--a delicious flavour exchange will take place and of course, the apricots will continue to swell in the liqueur syrup and become meltingly tender and exceedingly potent.

For some added complexity of flavour, I added a split vanilla pod. Other great options could be an organic cinnamon stick, some gloves, allspice/pimento berries, cloves, or black peppercorns. (I wouldn't advise using all those spices at once, though!)

So, what can you do with your jar of boozy apricots?

• Well, the obvious thing to do is simply pop an apricot into the bottom of a shot glass and top up with some of the liqueur syrup from the jar. Makes for a nice digestif after a heavy meal.
  
• Chop a few apricots and fold them into pound cake batter. You could also toss in some of the liqueur syrup and some ground almonds.
  
• When making a flourless chocolate cake, spread half the batter in the tin and then spoon over a thin layer of finely chopped apricots. Carefully spread over the remaining batter and bake as normal. A fruity and boozy surprise inside!
  
• Spoon some apricots and liqueur over vanilla ice-cream, Greek yoghurt or mascarpone.
  
• Add some soaked apricots to a trifle and use the liqueur syrup to soak the cake.
  
• Blend some apricots and liqueur syrup to a puree. Fold in slightly sweetened whipped cream and stiff egg whites to form a simple mousse.
  
• Something savoury? Add chopped apricots to some pork sausagemeat along with sage and onions to form a delicious stuffing for turkey at Christmas or Thanksgiving.