The upside-down apricot cake is a delightful dessert perfect for breakfast, after a meal, or tea time. The peculiarity of this cake is that the topping with fresh apricots is placed at the bottom of the cake: once cooled, the cake is flipped, making it a very scenic dessert despite the simplicity of its preparation.
The upside-down apricot cake is perfect to make in the summer, when apricots are sweet and juicy (in winter you can resort to canned apricots, although the taste and texture aren’t quite the same). Before arranging the apricots, a bit of caramel is usually poured on the bottom of the cake, giving the coverage a glossy finish and imparting the slightly bitter aftertaste typical of caramel. This summer dessert is a true symphony of flavors, where the sweetness of the apricots blends harmoniously with the caramel and the soft texture of the dough. Let’s discover all the steps to make it together!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 244.85 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 30.41 (g) of which sugars 18.30 (g)
- Proteins 3.17 (g)
- Fat 13.48 (g) of which saturated 2.06 (g)of which unsaturated 10.77 (g)
- Fibers 1.18 (g)
- Sodium 14.81 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a 20 cm diameter upside-down apricot cake
To make the apricot cake gluten-free I replaced all-purpose flour with an equal amount of finely ground rice flour. If you are celiac remember that the following ingredients must have the label ‘gluten-free’: rice flour, potato starch, baking powder.
- 1 egg (large)
- 2 oz sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or rice flour for the gluten-free version)
- 0.7 oz potato starch
- 1/3 cup sunflower seed oil
- 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 lemon (only the grated zest)
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 10.6 oz apricots
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 pat butter
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan small non-stick
- 1 Cake pan 20 cm diameter
- Parchment paper
- 1 Bowl
- Electric mixers
- 1 Grater
How to prepare the upside-down apricot cake
To prepare the upside-down apricot cake, start with the garnish, that is, the apricots: wash them thoroughly and, without peeling them, cut them in half. Remove the pit and slice them into pieces about 1 cm thick (1/2 inch) (1). Set them aside.
Line a 20 cm diameter cake pan with parchment paper so you have it ready when the caramel is done. If you don’t have a pan of these measurements, consult this guide that will help you adjust the measurements based on the pan you have.
Next, prepare the caramel: put 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water in a non-stick pan (2). Turn on the heat at medium flame and let it melt, without ever stirring with a spoon but simply rotating the pan to distribute the caramel evenly. As soon as it starts to darken slightly (3) turn off the heat.
Immediately add a pat of butter (4) and let it melt, continuing to rotate the pan to mix the butter with the caramel.
When the butter has melted, pour the caramel into the parchment-lined pan and rotate to distribute it evenly over the bottom (5). Then arrange the apricot slices in a radial pattern (6). Set aside.
Proceed to prepare the cake batter: break the egg into a bowl and add the sugar. Beat the egg for a few minutes with electric mixers, until it becomes frothy and fluffy. Then pour the oil in a thin stream (7), continuing to mix.
After mixing in the oil, add the dry ingredients: flour, starch, baking powder, grated lemon zest, and cinnamon (8). Work with the electric mixers for about a minute, until you get a homogeneous and quite consistent batter (9).
Pour the batter into the cake pan, leveling it well with the back of a spoon (10). Bake the upside-down apricot cake in the preheated oven at 350°F (static) for about 40 minutes.
Before removing it from the oven, do the toothpick test to check that the batter is perfectly cooked; then remove from the oven and let it cool completely (11).
When the cake is cold, place an inverted plate on the surface (12). Flip the cake and remove the pan (13), then gently peel off the parchment paper (14).
Serve the apricot cake at the end of a meal or as a snack, alone or accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Storage
The upside-down apricot cake is very moist, especially on the surface, so it’s best to store it at room temperature covered with a mesh food cover that lets air through. This way, it keeps perfectly for a couple of days; for longer preservation, it’s better to keep it in the refrigerator.
Tips and Variations
You can make an excellent upside-down peach cake with the same recipe: in this case, the best variety for this preparation are Percoca peaches, which have firm and not very watery flesh.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Is it essential to put caramel in the upside-down cake?
No, it’s not essential, but it gives the cake a glossy surface and a pleasant bitter aftertaste.
The caramel has solidified once placed in the pan, is it a problem?
It’s not a problem because it will melt again in the oven and mix with the apricots.
