I just love apricots, they bring a taste of French summer into our home. And although I didn’t purchase mine from a market stall at the side of the road (Lidl’s best), they are still beautifully coloured and soft skinned.
Apricot Cakes
Ingredients
125g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
75g butter, room temperature
70g Caster sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
75ml full fat milk
apricots, halved, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch wedges
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Method
Preheat oven to 160oC. Put the paper cases in the tin. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Divide this batter among muffin cups (cups will be only 1/3 full) and smooth tops. Top with the apricot slices and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar.
Bake until cakes are golden and a tester inserted into the centres comes out clean, 20–25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let pan cool 5 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack and let cool completely.
Divine!