Easy Apricot Preserves Cake Food

APRICOT PRESERVES

Steps:

• Select good clean apricots. Wash then, cut in two, and take out the stone, pull out any stem, it could be cut, but shouldn't need to be.
• Put them into a saucepan or soup pot. Add enough water, to just have them float, or be barely covered.
• Season them with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon.
• Bring to the simmer, and cook, covered until they are quite tender, but not falling apart, 20-25 minutes approximately.
• Do one of two things, purée the apricots, with their water, in a food processor, in batches, or mash with a masher, for a chunkier consistency.
• In either case, measure or weigh, the pulp, and add back to it, in the pan, an equal volume of sugar.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the mixture is set, 212-220 degrees f, on a candy thermometer.
• Bottle and process for 7 minutes.
• Enjoy.

FAVORITE APRICOT NECTAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325. Lightly mist a 12 cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, dust with flour. Shake out excess flour.
• Place cake mix, gelatin, apricot nectar, oil, lemon zest, and eggs in mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop machine and scrape down sides of bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping down sides of bowl again, if needed. The batter should look thick and smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place pan in oven.
• Bake cake until it is light brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 40-42 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
• Prepare glaze. Combine confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and apricot nectar in small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until sugar has dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a platter. While the cake is still warm, poke holes in the top with a toothpick or wooden skewer. Spoon glaze onto cake so that it seeps down into the holes. Let the cake cool before slicing.

APRICOT JAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12-cup fluted tube pan.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Cream butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream, beating batter briefly on low after each addition.
• Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan and spoon 1/2 of the apricot preserves on top, spreading it to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Repeat with remaining batter and preserves.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving platter.

APRICOT CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Prepare, bake and cool cake as directed on package.
• Split each cake layer in half horizontally. (I used dental floss while my husband gently held the cake in place with a clean kitchen towel. It was very easy to do!) Reserve 1 tablespoon preserves. Place one split cake layer on serving plate. Spread one-third remaining preserves on top. Repeat with remaining layers and preserves, leaving top plain.
• Prepare pudding mix as directed on package using 3/4 cup milk. In a large bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipping cream into pudding. Spread on sides and top of cake. Garnish with coconut, apricot halves and mint leaves. Warm reserved preserves to glaze apricot halves. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

EASY APRICOT CAKE (UPSIDE-DOWN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Butter baking dish: Take a rectangular baking dish of about 21x32 cm/ 8x13 inch and smear it with the 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon butter all over, bottom and walls of the dish. You will have a thick layer of butter all over.
• Sprinkle 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ 1/2 cup sugar only on the bottom of the baking dish.
• Halve the apricots and remove the stone. If the apricots are very large, you could quarter them. Then, place the apricots on the sugared pan carefully, cut side up, taking care not to disturb the sugar too much; the sugar should not come on top of the fruit.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the fruit starts to get soft and wrinkly.
• Beat egg whites: Shortly before the baking time for the apricots is up, separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add 80 g/ 2.8 oz/ 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar and the lemon juice and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Set aside.
• Remove the cake from the oven. Leave to stand for 3 minutes.
• Make the batter: In the meantime, carefully fold the egg yolks into the egg white mixture. Use a hand whisk to do this, and don't overdo it. Next, add the mixed flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and fold in very carefully again; you should not overdo it either.
• Bake: Spread the mixture over the fruit, level nicely and bake for about 30 minutes. Don't open the oven during the first 20 minutes of the baking time. Check after 20 minutes and reduce the temperature to about 160 degrees Celsius/ 320 degrees Fahrenheit if you think the cake already has too much color.
• Rest: After the baking time is over, take the cake out of the oven. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the batter layer comes out clean. Leave to stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Turn cake on a platter: Then, run a knife around the edges of the cake to release it correctly from the walls of the baking dish. Next, place a rectangular serving dish on the baking dish and reverse the cake onto the serving dish.
• Tip: At first glance, you might think that the cake is undercooked because the butter-sugar layer will look rather wet. But it is not undercooked or wet; it is just glossy because of the butter and the sugar.
• Cut the cake into squares and enjoy warm or cooled with some whipped cream on the side, if you wish.

UPSIDE-DOWN APRICOT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®) with cooking spray.
• Mix brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl and spread evenly over the pan.
• Pat the apricot slices with a paper towel to soak up any excess liquid. Line them on the bottom of the pan.
• Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
• Beat white sugar and softened butter in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamy and fluffy. Beat in eggs until thoroughly mixed. Add the flour mixture, sour cream, water, and vanilla extract. Beat well. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven, about 45 minutes.

EASY ALMOND APRICOT COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth and fluffy. On low speed of mixer, blend in sour cream and extract. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix just until combined. Sprinkle half of almonds in a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Spread half of batter over nuts. Carefully spoon half of preserves over batter, keeping preserves away from edges of pan. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Spoon on remaining batter; add remaining preserves to center of batter. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.

FRESH APRICOT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make topping:
• Heat butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter, then cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all of sugar will be melted). Remove skillet from heat and arrange apricot halves, cut sides down, close together on top of brown sugar.
• Make cake batter:
• Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt into a small bowl.
• Beat together butter, sugar, and extracts in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 3 to 4 minutes with a handheld. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then beat until mixture is creamy and doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and beat just until combined.
• Gently spoon batter over apricots and spread evenly.
• Bake cake:
• If your skillet isn't ovenproof, wrap handle with heavy-duty foil (or a double layer of regular foil) before baking. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Wearing oven mitts, immediately invert a large plate over skillet and, keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together, invert cake onto plate. Carefully lift skillet off cake and, if necessary, replace any fruit that is stuck to bottom of skillet. Cool to warm or room temperature.

APRICOT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the topping: Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan or an 8-inch square baking pan. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread the brown sugary mix in an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
• Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits. Arrange the apricots, flesh-side down, evenly over the bottom of the pan.
• Prepare the cake batter: Add the flour to a medium bowl. Sift in the almond flour, then use your fingertips to break up any clumps that don't fit through the sieve. Add the baking powder and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine.
• In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium until combined and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, then the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the milk, mixing to combine. Continue alternating the additions of flour and milk and mixing, scraping down the sides of the bowl, just until all is combined. (Make sure not to overmix during this step.)
• Spread the batter in an even layer over the apricot halves. Bake until the cake is set and doesn't jiggle when shaken, is golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
• Remove pan from the oven, and place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. With the cake still in the pan, turn the pan over onto a serving platter. Wait 1 minute, then remove the pan. This cake is excellent warm, but it's also delicious at room temperature.