2: Put 2 tablespoons water in a saucepan and pour the apricot pieces over it, then 250 g caster sugar and 10 g vanilla sugar. This may seem like a lot of sugar, but that's because apricots, even ripe ones, are quite acidic when cooked.
3: Cover and put over medium heat, and leave to cook slowly, stiring from time to time.
4: Stewed apricots are cooked when they reach the right consistency for your taste, which means with or without any bits of apricot still showing.
5: Your stewed apricots are ready.
6: As a refinement, you can pass the apricots through a strainer with a soft spatula...
7: ...to remove all skins and small hard parts.
8: You will then get very smooth stewed apricots, a purée, almost a coulis.