Summer is a great season with abundance of fresh produce. I was doing my usual grocery shopping and the stunning apricots make an irresistible attempt to get me to buy them. Growing up in tropical country, I've never had fresh apricot, only the dried sweetened ones. I had no idea that apricot is tarty, and the skin can be a little bitter until I tried the fresh ones for the first time.
I guess I'm too used to the sweetened version, I actually don't like the fresh ones as much (please don't judge me). So they have been sitting in the fridge for nearly a week and I decided maybe I should just find a recipe to bake it with. And then there are these lovely smelling and gorgeous looking lavender blossoming in my garden, so I thought, why not combined the both? The result? It's a lovely easy to make summer cake that I think will work well with any stoned fruit (peach, plum etc). The slight tartness of the apricot turns into golden sweetness and the cake is buttery yet light, a wonderful treat.
Preparation
Ingredients (yields 12 muffin)
Muffin cups
128g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
75g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
67g (1/3 cup) sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh lavender*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
81.5ml (1/3 cup) whole milk
6 apricots, halved, pitted, cut into wedges or keep halved
2 tablespoons raw (brown) sugar
128g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
75g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
67g (1/3 cup) sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh lavender*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
81.5ml (1/3 cup) whole milk
6 apricots, halved, pitted, cut into wedges or keep halved
2 tablespoons raw (brown) sugar
1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Put muffin cups into muffin tray.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in another medium bowl, scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add egg, lavender, and vanilla and beat until combined.
5. With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
6. Divide batter among muffin cups (cups will be only half full) and smooth the tops.
7. Top with apricot slices and sprinkle with raw sugar.
Bake until cakes are golden and a tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 20–25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let pan cool 5 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack and let cool completely.
*If using dried lavender, reduce the quantity by half. Too much lavender will bring bitterness to the cake.
This recipe can also be baked on a 8" round baking tray, adjust the baking time accordingly (typically will be 10 - 15 minutes longer).
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