This good all-purpose crumb cake can be made with any juicy fresh fruit.
Try substituting prune plums or pitted cherries for the apricots.
| Batter |
| 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter |
| 3/4 cup sugar |
| 1 egg |
| 3 egg yolks |
| 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest |
| 1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
| 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 teaspoon baking powder |
| |
| Topping |
| 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour |
| 1/2 cup sugar |
| 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon |
| 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter |
| 1 1/2 to 2 pounds apricots, about 10 medium apricots |
| Confectioners’ sugar for dusting |
| |
| 1 10-inch springform pan, buttered and lined with a disk
of parchment or wax paper |
1. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. To make the batter, in a large mixing bowl, using a heavy-duty mixer
fitted with a paddle or a hand mixer at medium speed, cream the butter
until soft and light. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating
about 5 minutes until very light. Add the whole egg and continue beating
until lighter. Add the yolks one at a time, beating after each addition
and scraping the bowl and the paddle occasionally. Beat in the lemon zest
and vanilla. Sift the flour and baking powder together several times then
stir into the batter.
3. To make the topping, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Melt the butter and stir it in evenly. Rub the mixture to coarse crumbs
by hand.
4. Rinse, halve and pit the apricots. Spread the batter evenly in the
prepared pan. Place the apricot halves cut-side up on top of the batter,
leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the edge. Don’t press apricots
into the batter. Scatter the crumbs evenly over the apricots and the batter.
Bake the cake until crumbs are well colored and cake is firm and no longer
liquid in the center, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Cool the cake in the pan, then run a knife around edges to loosen
it from the pan and place a plate or cookie sheet over the pan. Invert
and remove the pan. Remove the paper and place a platter upside down on
the cake. Turn right side up and remove the platter or cookie sheet. Dust
the cake lightly with confectioners’ sugar.
Variations
Pineapple Crumb Cake: Substitute one pineapple, peeled, cored, quartered
lengthwise and then sliced, for the apricots. Arrange the pineapple in
slightly overlapping concentric circles on the cake batter.
Plum Crumb Cake: This is perfect in the late summer and early fall when
the first Italian or prune plums come to market. Substitute 12 prune plums,
rinsed, halved and pitted, for the apricots.
