German Apricot Cake (Aprikosenkuchen)

German Apricot Cake (Aprikosenkuchen)

A simple, delightful cake that makes the most of apricot season! The batter is simple to put together, and the finished cake is a beautiful crowd-pleaser. Small apricots look and work best, but large ones can be used too.

Course Dessert

Cuisine European, German

Keyword apricot cake, easy cake recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 312kcal

Equipment

9 inch (22 cm) springform pan

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 cup butter softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1.5 cups flour (see note)
2 tsp baking powder (see note)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 lb apricots (~12 small apricots) halved and pitted
sliced almonds (optional)

Apricot Glaze

1/4 lb apricots (~2 medium or 3 small) chopped
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake

Grease a 9 inch (22 cm) springform baking pan (see note for alternatives).
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Place a rack in the center of the oven.
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, lemon zest, and salt.
Add the eggs one at a time and continue to mix.
Slowly add the flour and baking powder.
Add the buttermilk and mix until the batter is just combined. Note that it should be quite thick.
Pour the mixture into baking pan and spread it evenly. Layer the top with apricot halves, cut-side down. Press them in very slightly - they'll sink further on their own.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out of the center of the cake clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and loosen the springform wall. This will help to keep the cake from sticking as it cools. Sprinkle the top with sliced almonds.
Brush the surface of the finished cake with the apricot glaze (see below). Sprinkle with almond slices, if using. Allow the cake to cool. Serve with apricot jam/puree (see below).

Apricot Glaze

Combine the apricots, sugar, and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce temperature to low.
Simmer for 7-10 minutes, crushing and stirring the apricots until they've been reduced to a soft puree.
Strain the liquid from the apricot puree to use for glazing the cake. I brush two coats over the cake, but you may want to do more if your apricots aren't overly sweet.
The solids can be served alongside the cake too if you like, or reserved and used as jam for other recipes. For a finer texture (as shown in the photos), run the solids through a food mill or chinois.

Notes

Springform alternatives - if you don't have a springform pan, you can use a 9 or 10 inch standard cake pan lined with parchment paper, or a Pyrex baking dish. Note that the baking times may vary depending on the pan you use, so be sure to check on the doneness of your cake regularly.

Flour notes - I used all-purpose unbleached flour, but you can use bleached flour or cake flour too.

I highly recommend measuring your flour by weight, rather than volume. My 1.5 cups of flour weighed 250 grams (8.8 oz) - considerably more than the 'standard' 120 gram-per-cup weight given by many sources. If you can't weigh your flour, note that the 1.5 cups given here is for packed, non-sifted flour; sifted flour has a lot more air in it, and therefore lower weight. Sifted, non-packed flour (which is closer to the 120 grams-per-cup measurement mentioned above) will require about 2 cups.

Baking powder note - this recipe was developed with North American style double-acting baking powder. You can substitute German (or other) single-acting baking powder at the same volume, but the absence of the heat-activated secondary rising agent will cause the cake to puff up a little less during the baking process.

Apricot sweetness/ripeness - try to use fairly soft, ripe, sweet apricots to make this cake. Firmer/unripe apricots can work, but their sourness and bitterness can be amplified somewhat by cooking. If your apricots are ripe but a little bland, you can adjust for the missing sweetness by using more of the apricot glaze to brush the finished cake. Finally, if apricots are out of season (or disappointing), you can use good quality canned ones instead.

Nutrition