One of my first “let me bring something” offers saw me hustling to find something with a decided Levantine flair. I found a recipe with dates, but after I bought some I decided they just didn’t have the look I wanted for what I was cooking. To my thinking dates and apricots evoke similar images of Levantine lands, and since the recipe I was adapting only called for the dates to lie on the top of the dish, I figured I could do the same with apricots – glazed apricots. (And by the way, our apricot – the word – has its origins in the Arabic – how fortunate all the way around.) What turned out to be my Apricot Honey and Almond Coffee Cake got rave reviews (always a good feeling), and the glazed apricots, with their hint of cinnamon and orange, were equally a hit.
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
3 eggs
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c salted butter, melted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c all-purpose flour
For the topping:
½ c butter
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c white sugar
⅓ c honey
½ c slivered almonds
½ tsp cinnamon
16 glazed apricots
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter.
For the cake:
Beat together the eggs, sugars, and vanilla until mixture lightens in color.
Drizzle in the butter and continue to mix well.
Sift together the flour and baking powder, then add to batter stirring gently.
Pour batter into pan and bake 10-12 minutes; remove from oven (do not turn oven of)
For the topping:
Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
Add sugars, honey, and cinnamon, and bring to boil stirring constantly.
Gently spoon topping over top of cake, then sprinkle with slivered almonds. Return cake to oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool before releasing from springform pan.
Place cake on plate and arrange glazed apricots evenly around the outside.
NOTES
Glazed apricots are about as easy to make yourself as they are to find in a store, especially in non-holiday times. Here’s what you do. Place however many dried apricots you’re going to glaze in a small sauce pan, then cover them with orange juice. Add 2-4 cinnamon sticks. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool, and then I’d place them on a cooling rack over a piece of parchment paper to let them dry out (they will stay a bit sticky, but that’s part of their charm). Use on coffee cake, as above, or even as a great snack. There are some who believe glazed apricots were meant to be served atop a shortbread cookie, spread with cream cheese. Who? Me?
never 2 old 2 start cooking 