Almond Apricot Cake: An easy gluten-free dessert with a 2-Minute Batter

Apricots are from Central Asia and China and almonds may have hailed from those regions too. They are destined to be together in a sweet treat. If you want a super easy way to show off the almonds and apricot in cake form, make this cake! It comes together fast in the food processor and bakes up to a tender, light, and not-too-sweet cake that's aromatic, with just the right hint of almond. The delectable, delicate crisp crust on top adds a great finish to the cake, which has rice and almond flour to yield a gluten-free result.

The apricots are baked into the cake and sink to the bottom where they form a softish, tangy layer that contrasts nicely with the cake. The result is a hidden layer of fresh fruitiness that's fun to eat. It's not desiccated seeming. You don't need ice cream or any other adornments because the cake is special tasting as it is!

The batter was informed by Alice Medrich's brilliant almond butter cake in her award-winning cookbook, Gluten-Free Flavor Flours (written with Maya Klein and published in 2014 by Artisan). In that recipe, she made a spiced apricot topping from dried apricots. I wanted a slightly different cake that (1) celebrated fresh apricots, (2) was made effortlessly and quickly, and (3) was gluten-free without compromising flavor or texture.

A French moelleux of summer fruits, a thin cake studded with stone fruit that David Lebovitz wrote about inspired me to add fruit directly into the batter. When making the batter, I took a chance and prepared it in the food processor. In less than 2 minutes, the batter was done. There's no risk of the batter getting tough or weird because it is gluten free! The processor batter baked up beautifully. This almond apricot cake doesn't require much to impress and satisfy eight people. Here are some pointers to keep in mind before you dive into this keeper of a recipe.

Choosing and prepping apricots for this almond apricot cake

Don't use overly ripe apricots for this cake. Those are suitable for making preserves, like the stunningly good apricot ginger jam! The fruit needs to be firm-ripe. A little softness is ok but when you cut the fruit open, it needs to eventually keep its wedge shape.

To cut nice apricot wedges, use a knife to cut the apricot perpendicular to its natural cleft. The fruit is easier to twist apart. Then you can halve the halves to pry apart the wedges. Quartering an apricot should get you the wedge size you need. I threw a plum into this cake but honestly, it's too watery of a fruit for this cake.

When is the butter soft enough?

Leave the butter out at room temperature until you can press a spoon into it and with little resistance, you make a dent and perhaps push the sides of butter out a bit. I used Kerrygold butter so the cake was extra flavorful. You need the butter to be very soft so you can easily scoop it with the spoon and conveniently plop it into the processor. Whirl away to make the batter pronto.

Flour and binder tips for this almond apricot cake

How to select the rice flour? What rice flour you choose depends on where you grocery shop. This batter recipe works with white rice flour. At a supermarket or health food market, select stone-ground white rice flour (such as Bob's Red Mill brand). If you shop at an Asian market, use Thai rice flour, but make sure it's the regular rice flour sold in red labeled plastic bags, such as Erawan (look for the 3 headed elephant logo). You can buy Thai regular rice flour online, if an Asian market is not nearby. Look for "bot te tinh kiet" (Vietnamese) to indicate the flour is made from long-grain white rice, the kind you'd regularly use for daily meals in Southeast Asia. Weigh the flour because rice flour do not weigh the same by volume.

Almond apricot cake baking tips

When arranging the fruit in the batter, go for a circular pattern. When you cut the wedges of cake, they'll be more or less uniform. Remember to maintain about ½-inch (6mm) distance from the fruit to the wall of the cake pan. The batter will rise up around the fruit to sort of seal it in. This cakes bakes up to a deep golden brown. To ensure the cake bakes to a finish, that's why I lower the heat during the last 15 minutes of baking. You can cover the top with foil, if you fear it browning too much. Be vigilant during the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking!

Print Recipe

Almond Apricot Cake

Tender and oh-so flavorful, this recipe was inspired by Alice Medrich's almond butter cake in Gluten-Free Flavor Flours (2014, Artisan). If you don't have a processor, use a blender.

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ pounds | 570g firm ripe apricots
• 6.34 ounces | 180g stone-ground white rice flour or Thai white rice flour
• 1.8 ounces | 50g almond flour/meal
• 6.34 ounces | 180 g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
• 4 ounces | 113g salted butter, very soft
• ½ cup | 60ml plain yogurt (any percent fat) or slightly watered down Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, or a combo

Instructions

• Ready the oven and pan: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan well with oil or butter, then line the bottom with parchment. (If unavailable, use a removable bottom cake pan or regular high sided cake pan of the same width.)
• Prep the fruit: Halve the fruit, remove the pits, then cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) wedges.
• Make the batter: In a food processor bowl, combine the rice and almond flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Using a small spoon, scoop the butter and then drop it into the processor as small chunks. Run the processor until the mixture resembles the texture of brown sugar, pausing to scrape the sides as needed, about 1 minute. Add the yogurt, eggs, and extract. Blitz the processor until the batter is very smooth and thick, about 30 seconds.
• Assemble the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan, scraping it all from the processor bowl. Smooth the top and shimmy the pan to level the batter. Arrange the fruit wedges on their side in circles over the batter. Let them snuggly sit against each other and press them gently into the batter as you work. Leave about ½ inch (1.24cm) of space between the fruit and the wall of the pan so the batter will rise and encase the fruit without juices leaking out.
• Bake, cool, and eat: Bake the cake for 30 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 325°F and continue baking until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Expect the top to finish deep golden brown. (Total baking time is 45 minutes.)
• Let the cake cool in a rack for 1 hour or so, then run a knife around the edge and release the cake. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Notes

If you do not have salted butter, use unsalted butter and add ¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt.