July 15, 2004
Coffee Cake à l'Abricot
[Apricot Coffee Cake]
I am currently spending a few days with my family in the Vosges, a mountain range in the East of France where my parents have a vacation house. One of the great pleasures of being there, besides enjoying the garden, taking walks up the mountain, and sleeping soundly in the perfect quiet, is baking with my mother. This is something I used to do pretty often when I still lived with my parents, but now that I'm a big girl with my own place and all, these occasions aren't so frequent and are to be relished.
The cake you see here I didn't actually bake, as my mother made it before Céline and I got off the train from Paris yesterday. But I did eat it for the goûter in the afternoon, and it was really scrumptious -- which hardly comes as a surprise when my mom bakes. The bottom of the cake is nicely dense, its sweetness lovely against the tart apricots, and the top of the cake is deliciously moist, from the fruit and the creamy topping. It could also be made with other kinds of tart, not overly juicy fruit, such as halved plums, pink rhubarb chunks, apple slices...
I asked my mother if she would like to share the recipe with C&Z readers, and she said "Oui, bien sûr!" She explained that it came from Woman's Journal, a now defunct British magazine she liked to read, and which my father would always pick up for her when his work took him to London. She brought me the clipped-out page -- the theme of the article was "American Bakes" and included, oddly enough, a Mincemeat Crumble Cake -- but when she took a closer look at the recipe, she said "Oh. But that's not how I do it at all," and proceeded to walk me through her version, which was indeed quite different from the one in print.
So it seems that the inability to follow even a baking recipe runs in the family, and it is my mom's Apricot Coffee Cake, of course, that I share with you below.
Apricot Coffee Cake
- 500 g ripe apricots, washed and quartered
- 225 g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- a dash of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 150 g butter
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 100 g sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Topping
- 1 tbsp crème fraîche (substitute heavy cream and/or sour cream)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
Finishing touch
- confectioner's sugar
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) and grease a 22 cm (9'') cake pan, preferably springform.
In a food processor, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and butter. Add in the sugar, and mix again. Add in the egg and milk, then mix again until just combined, avoid overmixing.
Pour the batter into the pan -- it will be somewhat thick, so spread it around with a spatula if needed. Add the apricots on top, arranging them in a pretty circular pattern.
In a small bowl, combine the crème fraîche, sugar and egg, beating them with a fork, and pour this mixture evenly over the top of the cake.
Put in the oven to bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden and the apricots are tender. Leave it in the turned off oven for another ten to fifteen minutes. Dust with confectioner's sugar just before serving, warm, at room temperature or cold.
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More Recipes Like This One:
~ Peach Apricot Compote with Red Poppy Cream
~ Piège Cake
~ Coconut Chocolate Cake
~ Gâteau Sirop Muffins
~ Pistachio Pound Cake
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Comments (18)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in Desserts & Sweets - Recipe Inside!
That looks absolutely gorgeous, Clotilde!
Like mother, like daughter. :-)
Hope you are having a lovely time on vacation!
Posted by zochika on July 15, 2004 9:07 PMMmm, mmm, mmm. Mmmmm. I've said it before but I'll say it again: write a cookbook, Clotilde! I promise I'll buy it, and I don't think I'll be the only one! :-)
Posted by Josie on July 15, 2004 9:53 PMThis cake is scrumptious looking Clotilde! I was a bit worried when I first saw the title of your post as I initially thought that the cake contained coffee in it :-)
I am SO relieved that it doesn't (I don't like the taste of coffee) and look forward to trying yet another of the recipes from your site!
Have a lovely time with your family!
Posted by pipstar on July 16, 2004 12:57 AMI have been dreaming of a cake just like this. Have just gone out and gotten the apricots - so here I go. I can't wait.
Posted by Carol on July 16, 2004 2:25 AMCarol
PS Cookbook? Do write one. Your recipes are the best.
my mum has that exact same recipe!! coincidence? i think not. this could only be positive proof that we are, in fact, related! excuse me, i am over come with emotion.
Posted by monkey on July 16, 2004 6:03 AMLooks and sounds deelish. Is that butter softened first? Could it be creamed in a mixer?
Pipstar - coffee cakes are usually just served with coffee as a midmorning or afternoon snack.
I'd like to add to the chorus of encouragement. My own dear mother recently typed up some of her and my favorite recipes and presented me with a binder. Do please consider doing something like that (as a tangible counterpart to C&Z, ). I will be doing an occasional series of my mom's recipes on Love and Cooking in honor of her present.
Posted by Charlotte on July 16, 2004 7:43 AMyum, we will need to try this one too! Have a wonderful vacation :)
Posted by Alisa on July 16, 2004 10:39 AMi'd also like to say that i would very enthusiastically rush out to buy a copy of your cookbook, should you come out with one (& you really should)! & i know you probably have had tons of offers, but if you need help re: the book - proofreading, testing, etc. - i would love to help out.
Posted by serena on July 16, 2004 12:40 PMI begin to wonder how many of my confections are not quite right because of the inaccurate american measurements! I didn't sift the flour before measuring when I made the conversions and ended up with too much--instead of spatula-thick, it was pie-dough thick...but the end result was delicious nonetheless! I also substituted non-fat milk for creme fraiche--not nearly as good, I'm sure, but it was all I had in the fridge. Thank you for this morning treat!
I, too, would buy your cookbook, especially if accompanied by your delicious words, tales, and descriptions. And I would enthusiastically recommend it to everyone else!
Posted by Tenaya on July 16, 2004 4:20 PMIt's in the oven right now ! I did substitute raspberries for the apricots..
Posted by Cecile on July 16, 2004 5:46 PMHello again Clotilde,
Posted by chika on July 18, 2004 11:31 PMI tried the recipe yesterday and it turned out very reliable and successful!
I halved the quantities of ingredients and made several small cup cakes, and they look pretty :-)
I wanted to replace a part of flour with almond meal, but didn't have much almonds at hand so just used some slivered almonds for decoration. Instead, I added some crystallized ginger bits to the batter, and it worked pretty good and I was very satisfied with the cakes.
Thanks again for posting such a lovely recipe, and please thank your mom for me for her sharing one of her fabulous recipes with us!
Charlotte - I asked my mother, and the butter does not need to be softened. Out of the fridge is fine, and if you're mixing the batter by hand, use the tips of your fingers to rub it into the flour...
All - Many thanks for kindly expressing your interest in a C&Z book! It is actually in the works, but it is of course a lengthy process because I really want to do it right and have it be the kind of book I myself would rush out to buy and read, and I'm hard to please! :) And I will certainly keep in mind all your offers to help, that's priceless! Again, thanks for your incredible kindness and support, you're the best readers I could hope for...
Posted by clotilde on August 6, 2004 11:08 AMCharlotte - what an excellent idea - Martha Stewart would be proud!! my maternal grandparents have both passed away, and i regret not having done some archiving of my grandmother's trove of recipes - although she was not much of a cook, her husband had a marvelous way with the simplest & most comforting of foods. rice pudding, baked ham, roasts, etc. in my (hah!) spare time, i should try & start a collating initiative in the family...
the c & z book would find a great readership in Montreal! i am certain of it!
cheers,
Posted by kelli ann on September 9, 2004 7:20 PMk
I tried this recipe a few days ago and it is delicious. I want to try it with blueberries. I am thinking of smashing the berries and cooking them with a little sugar and water to make a syrup and using that in place of the apricots.
Posted by benji on July 30, 2006 8:20 PMClotilde,
I made this cake for Christmas morning breakfast and it was the best coffee cake ever. We had 12 people over so I made two of them and instead of apricots I used pears. Everyone was just raving about it and wanted the recipe. I just wanted to tell you know that this is a winner recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Posted by Ewa on December 27, 2006 6:33 PMRe: Apricot Coffee Cake
How much is 500 g. apricots
225 g. flour
100 g. sugar
I want to make this cake, but the measurements confuse me.
Posted by Irene Carrick on June 18, 2007 5:21 PMWow - I made this tonight with macoun apples and sour cream. It is delicious - a buttery, crunchy outer edge and a dense spongy middle. I sliced the apples thin and they were tender and moist. Outstanding recipe - thank you! :)
Posted by Carrie on October 3, 2007 5:26 AMI love your blog, or website, not sure what to call it. Your writing is great and your recipes even better. At our home we are fans.
Thanks for the lovely cakes and pies.
Greatings,
Paula from Helsinki.
Posted by Paula on February 17, 2008 2:13 PMPrivacy. The email addresses you enter will not be used for any other purpose than the sending of this message.