Buy jam? We cook our own for our cakes. Our apricot jam goes into the Viennese Sachertorte and the Punschkonfekt – and that's exactly why it has to be one thing above all: really fruity.
Fresh apricots are hard to find here in Baja, so I make it from dried apricots. They bring so much natural sweetness that we need very little sugar – and plenty of flavor too, or so I thought … (more on that in the update below). A splash of Cointreau adds a delicate orange note at the end.
The recipe makes about 750 g of jam, so 3–4 small jars – perfect as a cake filling.
Ingredients
- 250 g dried apricots
- 450–500 ml water
- 60–70 g sugar
- 8 g pectin (for low sugar, e.g. low-methoxyl citrus pectin, "bajo metoxilo")
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 25–30 ml Cointreau
- 1 small pinch of salt
Method
- Soak: Put the apricots in a bowl, pour about 450 ml of water over them and soak for at least 4–6 hours, ideally overnight.
- Cook until soft: Put the apricots and the soaking water in a large pot (at least 3 liters – the mixture foams up a lot later when it boils with the pectin) and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes until they are really soft. If the mixture is very thick, add a little water.
- Purée: Purée finely with a hand blender. If you like some chunks, chop part of the apricots beforehand and fold them in afterwards.
- Mix the pectin: Mix the pectin thoroughly with the sugar – this way it spreads evenly and doesn't form lumps.
- Boil: Reheat the purée, sprinkle in the sugar-pectin mixture while stirring constantly and bring to a rolling boil. Boil vigorously for about 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the lemon juice and salt.
- Cointreau: Stir in the Cointreau and boil for about 1 more minute.
- Gel test: Put a small plate in the fridge beforehand. Drop a little jam on it and let it cool: if it thickens and wrinkles when you push it with your finger, it's ready. Otherwise boil a little longer.
- Fill the jars: Fill hot into clean, sterilized jars, close and let cool.
Sabine's Tip
Start with 60 g of sugar – the dried apricots are sweet enough already. You can always adjust at the end.
Low-sugar pectin often only sets properly once the jam has cooled completely. Hot, it still looks runny – so don't panic and don't add more pectin right away. If it stays too soft, simply cook it a little longer.
I deliberately cook my jam a little firmer – it is mainly meant as a cake filling, for example for the Sachertorte and the punsch cubes. That way it doesn't soak into the cake or run out. If you prefer it soft and spreadable for your breakfast toast, use a little less pectin or stir in a splash of hot water before filling the jars.
Don't overdo the Cointreau: I never use more than 30 ml – the apricot should stay in the spotlight.
Because it has so little sugar, the jam belongs in the fridge. Use opened jars within 2–3 weeks.
Update October 2026
Unfortunately I can't get fresh apricots here in Mexico, so I made this jam from dried apricots. But it didn't quite convince us: drying takes away a lot of the typical apricot aroma, and the jam turned out too mild for our taste. So we've adapted the recipe – now we add dried cranberries. They bring a lovely tartness, a beautiful colour and make the jam really fruity. For 500 g of jam I use 80–100 g of cranberries, roughly chopped and soaked in water or orange juice beforehand.
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