Apricot Almond Cake

I've been meaning to blog about this recipe for some time now, but it's hard to do that when you make things up as you go, write it on a scrap piece of paper and then lose the paper. I finally found it today, and it was right where I should have remembered that it would be - my kitchen utensil draw. To the left of all the utensils I keep print outs and notes about recent recipes I've made or created, but not yet blogged about as well as recipes torn out of magazine pages.

A little over a month ago I had an abundance of apricots - Madeline asked for them at Costco, enjoyed them, and quickly tired of them. It gave me lots of opportunities to create some new recipes (Creamy Vanilla Apricot Sorbet and Roasted Chicken, Apricot, and Brie Panini) from an fruit I often overlook. This recipe is another that I created during that week.

I made it with dessert in mind, so I sliced the cake horizontally and added a yummy mascarpone buttery apricot filling, but you could easily omit that step and serve this delicious cake for a brunch or breakfast with more of a coffee cake feel to it.

Apricot Almond Cake
a goodLife {eats} creation

• 2 c flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 3/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 c sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1/3 c milk
• 3/4 c chopped apricots
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
  
• sliced apricots, enough to lay on the top of the cake
  
• 1/4 c almonds, sliced
• 1/8 tsp each nutmeg and sugar

Filling:

• 1/4 c butter
• 1/4 c mascarpone cheese
• 3 Tbs apricot puree or apricot preserves
• 1 1/2 c powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together flour through salt. Using an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until combined and creamy, approximately 3 minutes. Stir in the extracts. Beat in half of the sour cream followed by half of the flour mixture. Repeat. Stir in the milk, zest, and chopped apricots.

Grease an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Pour batter in pan. Sprinkle the top with almonds, nutmeg and sugar. Arrange sliced apricots on top. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until set. Remove outer ring of springform pan and let cake cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, cut cake in half horizontally. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

Beat together butter through vanilla. Spread on the top of the bottom half of the cake. Replace the top half of the cake and serve. (If you'd like this as more of a breakfast cake, skip the filling)