Fresh Apricot Cake

Recently we purchased a bag of beautiful, ripe, fresh apricots at the farm stand on Hwy 12, just outside of Sebastopol to the east. I didn't really know what I wanted to do with them, but the next day I processed them by dipping briefly in boiling water, then putting them into cold water. That way the skin slips off easily and they are ready to slice and to have the pit removed. I ended up with a good sized container of ready-to-use fresh apricot slices. A few slices were used over the next couple of days in cereal and other dishes, but they were getting nearer to the end of time to use them, so I needed a recipe that could take a lot of them. 

I needed something to bring to a potluck on the 4th of July. What better way to use the fresh apricots than in a picnic cake. I wanted a cake that was moist so that it didn't need any icing or other embellishment, one that would be easy to transport to the picnic, and one that would not be too sweet because the hostess prefers sweets with a tang and not very sweet. I found the perfect recipe in Dorie Greenspan's cookbook Around My French Table. In her book the cake is made with apples, but I knew that I could make it work with my fresh apricots.

Of course there were changes to be made. First off, I don't own an 8-inch springform pan, so I had to adjust for a 9-inch springform pan. Then I found that the freshly laid eggs that were a gift from a neighbor were on the small side. As it turned out that worked well. I used three small eggs instead of two large, increased the flour and baking powder a bit to both absorb the extra egg and to make the batter work in the larger pan. I kept the butter the same knowing that the apricots would have more moisture than the apples so there would be sufficient moisture. I added 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract since almond is a great flavor with apricots. I also put in 3 tablespoons of run, another great flavor with fruit. The sliced almonds on top were also my addition, both for looks and to keep the almond theme going.  As you can see, there were so many changes that this is truly a variation of the original recipe. Even, so, I'm going to give the recipe for the 8-inch springform pan since  I didn't write down the amounts of the changes I made.

Do try this yourself! Everyone at the picnic who tried a slice really, really liked it. It's moist, tender, buttery, has that unbeatable fresh apricot flavor and is delicious!

Fresh Apricot Cake

a variation of Marie-Helene's Apple Cake in Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 cups fresh apricots that have been peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and center a rack in the oven. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon baking mat. Put the springform pan on it.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl beat the eggs with a whisk until they're foamy. (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and the whisk attachment.

Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum, vanilla, and almond extract.

Whisk in half the flour, and, when it's incorporated, whisk in half the melted and cooled butter. Scrape the bowl, then whisk in the rest of the flour, followed by the rest of the melted butter, mixing gently after each addition. Scrape the bowl and whisk for a few seconds to incorporate the scrapings. You should have a batter that is smooth and rather thick. Switch to a rubber or silicon spatula and fold in the apricots, turning the fruit so that it's coated with the batter and fairly evenly distributed in the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan. Smooth it with the spatula so that it is pretty evenish. Sprinkle evenly with the sliced almonds.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. The cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. That's OK. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes.

Carefully run a blunt knife around the sides of the pan and remove the sides of the springform pan carefully. Use the blunt knife to loosen any apricots sticking to the sides before opening the sides fully.

Allow the cake to cool until it's just slightly warm or is at room temperature, then run a long spatula between the cake and the pan bottom, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, invert onto a rack, carefully remove the bottom of the pan, and turn the cake over onto a serving dish. Remove the parchment or wax paper and you are ready to serve.

If taking to a picnic, let cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap for transport.

This cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature. Don't cover, just let sit at room temperature with a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper up against any cut surfaces.

Apricot Season

I don't remember having fresh apricots when I was growing up. We just ate canned apricots. When I came to California I discovered the joy of the fresh apricot, especially the tartness factor. Canned apricots are canned in heavy syrup...or they were 50 odd years ago...and so were pretty sweet. A ripe fresh apricot has sweetness, but it also has an underlying tartness that I believe makes the fruit even more enjoyable.

We had some fresh apricots, unpeeled and uncooked, with berries and bananas for breakfast and they were delicious, but I wanted fresh apricot pie. The season for fresh apricots is pretty short and I don't think that they ship well either, so I was delighted to find them available at our Hwy. 12 farm stand. Because Sweetie really loves pies, I decided to make him an apricot pie. Many years if I make a pie or tart with apricots I combine them with a frangipane, a type of filling made with ground nuts. This time I wanted it to be all apricots! I even made a two crust pie and tried out a lattice making gadget that Sweetie had given me. (See photo below to see how it looks!)

The best way to peel an apricot is just like peeling a peach...dip them for a few minutes in boiling water and then plunge into cold water. The skins usually peel off really easily, without a knife. I did that to all the remaining apricots and, once I had slice them up and discarded the pits and peels, I had about 5 cups of fruit. I could have used another cup of fruit, but decided to go with a shallow 9-inch pie pan instead of a deep one and it all worked out fairly well.

As you know if you've been reading this blog, I often speed up the pie making time by using a pre-made pie dough for the crust. My go-to is Pillsbury ReadyCrust. The results are really delicious and you get a nice, flaky crust with not a lot of time or effort.

Depending on how juicy your apricots are, you will need a little or a lot of the flour mixture. It helps the juices turn into a filling and keeps the bottom from becoming soggy. I also like to use a pizza stone on the rack near the bottom of the oven where I plan on baking the pie. Putting the metal pie plate right on the preheated stone gives the bottom a nice push towards being fully baked and flaky.

No apricots? You can pretty much do the same thing with fresh peaches or nectarines (although I would skip peeling the nectarines) and you will still get a delicious seasonal pie. Peaches and nectarines are available for a much longer time during the summer, so you could make an apricot one now and a peach one later and a nectarine one even later. Just be sure to invite Sweetie over. He really appreciates freshly baked pies! 

Apricot Pie

Serves 6-8

pie dough for a two crusted pie (I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust from the market)

1 1/2 - 2 pounds fresh apricots
2 tablespoons sugar
2 drops almond extract
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg if fresh unavailable)

1 tablespoon light cream
1 tablespoon sanding sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a shallow 9-inch pie pan (or a deep one of you have at least 6 cups apricots when prepared), place one circle of pie dough, either dough rolled to a circle or a pre-rolled circle, and fit to the pan. let extra dough hang over the edges until pie filling has been put in. Set aside.

In a small pot heat water until boiling, with the water coming half way up the sides of the pot. Have cold water ready in a quart heat-proof measuring cup or in a narrow bowl. Once the water boils, place 4-5 apricots in the water and leave for a minute. Remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon and place right away into the cold water. Repeat with the other 3-4 apricots. Peel the apricots while still warm. Repeat with the rest of the apricots. Once all have been peeled, slice into 1-inch wedges and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle fruit with the sugar and the almond extract, then stir to combine. In a small bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, pinch of salt and the nutmeg. Stir to combine. Sprinkle flour mixture over the apricots and stir gently with you hands to coat the fruit with the flour mixture.

Place the fruit mixture in the prepared pie pan, leveling the fruit.

Prepare the second piece of dough by rolling into a circle, if needed, then create a lattice or just top with the second crust. Use your clean finger to skim light cream on the part of the dough where the upper dough and lower dough meet. Press to seal. Trim dough if desired.  Roll the dough towards the pie, rolling under, so that the upper and lower doughs all around are rolled together to sit on top of edge of pan. Crimp dough edges. Using a small pastry brush, brush dough with remaining light cream. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar. If top crust is solid and not latticed, cut four 1-inch slashes in the top of the pie, spaced out evenly around the pie...to let steam escape.

Place the pie on a lower rack in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F and bake for another 25-35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling in the pie.

Removed from the oven to a cooling rack and cool until cool (or barely warm if you can't wait), then cut and serve.

Apricot Frangipane Pie and Finding Mistakes

 Do you ever have one of those days when the recipe you are making keeps having issues...and then you correct them in time but end up losing so much time? I had that kind of day making this pie.

I wanted to bring this pie with us to a dinner party the same evening. Since I'd already made this pie once before as a tart, I didn't think it would be difficult and so I started at about 3 pm, thinking it would be ready by about 4:30 with plenty of time to cool before we left at 5:15.

The first mistake I made was in choosing a pie plate. I should have gone with something pretty flat...maybe 1 1/2 inches high. Instead I went with a beautiful white ceramic plate that was about 2 1/2 inches high. I used the already made pie dough circle which I had remembered to take out of the fridge a while before...so that part was fine. Then I made my first mistake by putting it into the freezer. I often do that with single crust pies before blind baking because it helps to keep the dough from shrinking during baking. The part I forgot was that you don't do that with ceramic or glass pie plates. Going from freezer to hot oven works fine with metal plates, but not glass and ceramic! Fortunately I remembered after I took it from the freezer and before I put it in the oven! Let it sit awhile to warm up a bit, added parchment and my baking lentils (pie weights) and blind baked it. So far so good!

The next mistake was in not adjusting the recipe for a thicker filling. I needed twice as much filling for a pie 2 1/2 inches high. That includes having more room temperature eggs and butter, more ground almonds, and all the filling ingredients really. Fortunately I had an extra egg at room temperature and I used all the butter in the two butter dishes because that butter was at room temperature. The ground almonds almost ran out before the measuring cup was filled, but there was just enough! Another disaster averted. As you can see from the slice above, I really needed all that filling. The recipe below has been adjusted so the filling is what you see in the photo above.

The final mistake was not realizing that a thicker filling would require a longer baking time. Again, I was fortunate because I had the time I'd allowed for cooling...and I used it all! The pie went from the oven to the carrier. Once we got to our destination I asked the hostess to put the pie in the fridge to cool while we visited and ate. Even so, the very center was a bit warm.

Was it worth it? Yes! It was an awesome pie, everyone loved it and offers to leave some for the hosts were accepted (which is not always the case). Sweetie and I enjoyed a slice last night to finish it off.

I made this with fresh apricots which I blanched and peeled. You can also use canned apricot halves and still have a delicious pie. The fresh apricot season is pretty short so it's nice to know that there is another option. Of course you can also use another fruit with the frangipane filling...anything that goes well with almonds will work well...fresh pitted cherries, especially sour cherries would be awesome a would most berries.

The apricot jam on the bottom crust and on the tops of the apricots after baking (for shine) really is optional, but you do get a bit more apricot flavor that way.

Apricot Frangipane Pie

Serves 8

Prepare the crust:

Make your own favorite pie dough recipe for a single crust or use
Pillsbury Readycrust or similar packaged pie dough circles, as I did

Let the dough come to room temperature, then roll to a 12-inch diameter circle. Carefully transfer dough circle to a pie plate and shape dough to the sides of the pan. Turn under the edges and flute. If using a metal pan, place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. If using glass or ceramic skip that step.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the rack in the center of the oven.

Remove tart shell from freezer.  Line the prepared pan with parchment and fill with pie weights. I use lentils or dry beans and they work great!

Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on a rack. Remove the parchment and pie weights carefully and use the back of a spoon to gently press down any puffed crust, then bake another few minutes to let the bottom fully bake. Let crust cool. When cool, if desired, brush bottom of crust with apricot jam, using a pastry brush.

Prepare the frangipane filling:

6 tablespoons soft butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups almond flour or mixed nut flour

10 apricot halves, peeled, pitted, and patted dry
1/4 cup apricot jam, warmed (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the filling:  Beat together the butter, salt, sugar, flour, and almond extract.

Beat in the eggs, then add the almond flour, stirring just to combine.

To assemble the tart: Spread the filling in the bottom of the crust.

Place the apricot halves in a pattern on top of the filling, pressing them down gently so the bottom of the fruit is covered.

Bake the tart in the preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Filling will puff up around the apricots.  Cool slightly or completely before serving. If desired, brush the tops of the apricots with apricot jam, using a pastry brush.