adapted from "Seductive Flavours of the Levant" by Nada Saleh, Robsons Books 2002


400g sugar
600ml water
450g dries apricots, soaked overnight.
(get the plump moist ones, not the very dried ones.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6-10 heaped teaspoons kaimak, mascarpone or clotted cream.
(I find that Double Cream works well, seems to hold the apricot flavour better than the mascarpone)
30g pistachios, finely ground

Heat the sugar and water into a sausepan big enough to haold the liquid and the aprocots.
Allow to simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, then drain the apricots from the soaking liquid and add to syrup.
Bring to the boil, allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes over a medium heat or until the apricots have softened and the water has thickened to a syrupy consistency. (I find a little longer is nice as it develops the apricot flavours in the syrup even more.)
Turn the heat up for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook for a further minute.
Transfer the apricots with a slotted spoon to a side dish and allow to cool.
Reduce the apricot syrup to about 4 -6 tablespoons, over a medium heat.
Take care not to burn this as it will taint the syrup very easily.
Mix the cream with 2-3 tablespoons of the cooked apricot syrup. (If you feel that the cream/double cream etc needs further thickening, whip to desired consistency and THEN add the syrup gradually.)
When the apricots have cooled, split and fill with cream.
(Most dried apricots will already have a convenient split.)
Roll in the ground pistachios.