My family’s lack of enthusiasm for apricots frustrates me. Peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries – all the other stone fruits they will eat with gusto. (Stone Fruit, by the way, is the name of my rock band.) Apricots, on the other hand, will sit in the fruit drawer until I come along and turn them into a dessert.
(You might ask why, in that case, I continue to buy apricots. Mostly to turn into desserts. Also jam.)
This quick and easy tea cake is guaranteed to get your family to eat whatever chopped fruit you chose to nestle between the layers of shortcake-like dough. I go with apricots because otherwise those apricots will sit in the refrigerator until they disintegrate. But you could use peaches, nectarines or even a mix of your favorite stone fruits.
This recipe, which is lightly adapted from my favorite dessert cookbook, Rustic Fruit Desserts, is the perfect place to turn when you buy too much at the farmers’ market or are drowning in fruit from your CSA. It is a simple dessert to make — no tricky pastry to roll out — but will easily use up a dozen apricots or a half-dozen peaches. With this cake in your repetoire, you need never throw out fruit again.
Serve this tea cake for dessert and everyone will love you. But because it is not too sweet or sugary, this versatile, old-fashioned treat works equally well as a accompaniment to tea or coffee in the afternoon or even, dare I say it, the morning. (We eat a lot of fruit desserts as breakfast around here.)
Whatever you do, don’t neglect to sprinkle Demerara or Turbinado sugar over the top of the cake prior to baking. The crunch from those raw sugar crystals when you bite into the cake — because in my family, we often dispense with such niceties as forks and just eat cake with our hands — is the best part.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 6 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar plus 1 TB
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lb apricots, pitted and chopped
- Juice and zest of half a lemon
- Demerara or Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about three to five minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Gradually add the flour and mix just until combined. (It will be a wet dough.)
- Wrap dough in plastic and chill until firm, about one hour. (Dough can be made in advance and refrigerated until needed.)
- Preheat oven to 375 and grease a tart pan.
- Toss apricots with lemon zest, juice and remaining tablespoon of sugar.
- Divide dough in half. Press one half into bottom of tart pan.
- Top dough with chopped fruit.
- With your fingers, tear off a chunk of the remaining dough and flatten it into a thin layer. Place on top of the fruit.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, cobbling together the pieces until the fruit is mostly covered, but some gaps remain. (Dough will join together in the cooking and create a scalloped top.)
- Sprinkle generously with raw sugar.
- Bake until top crust is puffed and golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack before serving.
This Looks DELICIOUS!! We can’t wait to try it Emily! Great for breakfast or a snack.
Team Villa Gabriella Organic