Place the apricots in a bowl, cover
with lukewarm water and leave to stand for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180oC / 350oF /
Gas 4. Line a 23 x 13 cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper and then
grease the paper.
With a vegetable peeler, remove the
orange rind, leaving the pith. Chop the strips finely.
Drain the apricots and chop coarsely.
Place in a bowl with the orange rind and raisins. Squeeze the peeled
orange. Measure the juice and add enough hot water to obtain 175ml
liquid.
Add the orange juice mixture to the
apricot mixture. Stir in the sugar, oil and eggs. Set aside.
In a another bowl, sift together the
flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda.
Fold in the flour mixture into the
apricot mixture in three batches, then stir in the walnuts.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared
tin bake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, about
55-60 minutes. If the loaf browns too quickly, protect the top with a
sheet of foil.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes the
transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.