Fresh Apricot Cake

Apricot Cake



There are a million other things that I could have productively employed myself with, the evening I made this cake. However, after the kids went to bed and with my husband working late, I turned on the oven to bake.

The quality of my baking recently had taken a nosedive. Ordinarily I can rely on my ability to produce a decent baking creation but the last 2 times I baked, have produced less than perfect results. Having considered the possible problem, I decided to firmly place the blame on the presence of my children whilst baking! Seriously though, while I desperately want them to learn to cook and bake with me; and to create happy memories of us doing so, I really find it hard to keep calm as the kitchen gets trashed!

So, I had a happy moment, ON MY OWN, with full concentration on a Clotilde recipe for fresh apricot cake. As you may remember, I'm a huge fan of her recipes. I bought some amazing fresh apricots at the market the other day which had been gently nudging me all week to find a moment to bake with them.

The cake, I'll freely admit, is hardly changed from Clotilde's original, but I couldn't resist sharing it. All I did was swapped in some whole wheat pastry flour; the rest is left, as instructed by the master. It's a great summer dessert, morning coffee cake, maybe even breakfast but definitely company friendly; I think you'll agree it's a looker! More than that though, the combination of the sweet but slightly tart fruit with the cake and a blob of Greek yogurt...well, just delicious.

Fresh Apricot Cake

(based on Clotilde's Apricot Coffee Cake)



Fresh Apricot cake


Ingredients

1 lb/450g fresh apricots, washed and sliced into 8
1 cup/ 125g all purpose flour
3/4 cup/ 90g whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons/ 5oz/ 150g butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup/ 100g sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping

1 tablespoon sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 360°F or 180°C
2. Butter a 9" springform cakepan
3. Place the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the food processor and pulse until mixed
4. Add the butter and mix again
5. Add the sugar then mix again
6. Add the egg and milk and pulse until just combined. Do not overmix.
7. Press the batter into the cake pan and flatten the top
8. Arrange the apricots on the top
9. then mix together the topping ingredients and pour over the cake
10. Bake for approx 40-45 mins or until the cake is golden on top.
11. Turn the oven off but leave the cake in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes
12. Let it cool to room temperature and dust it with confectioners (icing) sugar just before serving.
13. Serve at room temperature or cool from the fridge with a blob of sour cream or Greek yogurt







Enjoy!