-CAKE BATTER-
1/2 c Unsalted butter; softened
3/4 c Sugar
1 Egg
3 Egg yolks
1 ts Vanilla extract
1 1/4 c All-purpose flour
1 ts Baking powder
12 md Apricots
CRUMB TOPPING
1 1/4 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c Sugar
1/4 ts Cinnamon
1/2 c Unsalted butter; melted
Use this recipe with peaches, sour cherries or pineapple with equally good
results.
CAKE BATTER: PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350F. Butter a 10-inch round, 2-inch deep
cake pan and line the bottom with a disk of parchment or wax paper. In a
large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until soft and light. Add the
egg and continue beating until light. Add the yolks one at a time, beating
well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Sift together the flour
and baking powder and stir into the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the
prepared pan. Rinse and halve the apricots. Remove the pits with the bowl
of a small spoon if they resist. Arrange the apricot halves cut-side up on
the batter in concentric rows, overlapping slightly, leaving a margin of
about 1-inch around the edge. Don’t be concerned if the apricots mound
slightly in the center of the cake; the top will even out as the cake
bakes.
CRUMB TOPPING: FOR THE CRUMBS, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Melt the butter and stir it in evenly. Rub the mixture to coarse crumbs by
hand. Scatter the crumbs over the apricots and the edge of the batter as
evenly as possible. Bake the cake 1 hour until a knife inserted in the
center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes and
invert a plate on it. Invert onto the plate and lift off the pan. Peel off
the paper and invert a rack on the cake. Invert cake onto the rack, remove
the plate and cool.
From
Yields
8 Servings