Tu bi’Shvat is a celebration of an abundance of fruit, so feel free to celebrate in your own special way by using any kind of dried fruits that you might have in abundance. I used apricots, dried sour cherries and prunes, but anything that strikes your fancy would be suitable.
This curious cake is dense and chewy, not light and airy, so it makes a good accompaniment with coffee as a mid-afternoon snack, when your energy is wavering. The original recipe says exactly it keeps for “a long time.”
7 tablespoons (60 g) flour
7 tablespoons (60 g) sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups (200g) dried fruits; any combination, such as sour cherries, cranberries, raisins (whole) or figs, prunes, apricots, peaches (diced)
1 1/2 cups (150g) nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC.) Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Stir in the dried fruits and nuts.
4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 90 minutes. Let cool, then remove cake from pan.
Serving: Use a sharp knife to cut in very thin slices. The cake will keep for at least a week, wrapped, at room temperature.