Almond Cake with Apricot Glaze
Fruit Topping Makes This Dessert a Family Favorite
Apricot season lasts from the middle of May to early July. Use these sweet fruits in a tasty Almond Pound Cake with Apricot Glaze.
Fresh apricots are a splendid fruit to behold. Their soft-fleshed exterior and demure size are attractive to the eye. Pleasurable as they are, apricots do carry their share of personal vices: First, since the soft flesh bruises easily, the fruits are never shipped long distances. Second, the apricot season is a short-lived one-two month season that extends from the middle of May to early July. If you're going to eat an apricot, now is the time to savor these succulent fruits. The small lobed spheres range in color from brilliant yellow to rosy pink-orange with a soft fuzz covering its golden skin. Apricots can be perfectly cradled in your hand, all the more reason to sample their delicate scent--a hybrid combination of peach and melon. For such simple fruits, apricots have a bold and intricate flavor. The almost intense sugar-sweetness of the fruits makes them ideal candidates for desserts, but they can be used in savory sauces and preserves as well.
Even though apricots are available canned, frozen and dried year-round, nothing compares to the flavor of a fresh apricot in all its sun-ripened goodness. When choosing apricots from the farm stand or produce bin, look for apricots that are slightly soft when pressed and have a perceptible aroma. Unlike other fruits that ripen after they're picked, apricots must be selected carefully, so avoid any fruits that seem hard to the touch or have no fragrance. So gather up a bin of apricots, and enjoy these golden beauties as a toast topping for breakfast or as a rich, tasty jam. And don't forget to bake a scrumptious Almond Pound Cake with Apricot Glaze (see recipe below).
Think of James Russell Lowell admonishment from The Vision of Sir Launfal--"And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days"--all the more better to savor the apricots.
Almond Pound Cake with Apricot Glaze Recipe
Makes One 10-inch Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE:
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted twice, then measured
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dairy sour cream
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/3 cup apricot jam
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
FOR THE GLAZE:
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed apricot juice (about 8-10 apricots), strained through a sieve to remove pulp
- 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and almond extract until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream in small amounts, and blend well; add the lemon juice with the last addition.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan. Spoon the apricot jam over the batter in the pan, being careful not to let the jam touch the side of the pan. Sprinkle the almonds over the jam. Spoon the remaining batter over the almonds in the pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
FOR THE GLAZE:
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the apricot juice, sugar and vanilla.
- Transfer the cake to a cake stand or plate. Use a pastry brush to apply the glaze to the top and sides of the cake.
VARIATION:
Replace the apricot glaze with a lemon syrup by combining 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice with 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, to reduce the liquid to 1/3 cup. Add 3 apricots, sliced crosswise, and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the apricots with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of the cake. Brush the syrup on the top and sides of the cake.
