Easy Fresh Apricot Cake with Vanilla

I love adding fresh fruit to cakes, they add so much more than just flavour. As the apricots bake, they release moisture into the sponge, which helps keep it light and tender. The slight tartness in the fruit also balances out the richness of the butter and sugar.

This cake can be served as a dessert, afternoon treat, or alongside a cup of tea. It's a great way to celebrate summer fresh seasonal produce, using apricots when they are at their best.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Recipe ingredients
• How to make apricot sponge cake
• Recipe variations
• Serving suggestions
• Useful hints and tips
• FAQs
• Pin the recipe
• Additional recipe suggestions
• Easy Fresh Apricot Cake Recipe

Recipe ingredients

Find the full list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.

• Sugar - I like to use caster sugar when baking as it has a lighter, finer texture. I also add a dusting of icing sugar to the cake once cooled, and before serving.
• Butter or baking margarine - you can use either butter or margarine in this cake. I prefer baking margarine for sponge cakes as it results in a lighter cake.
• Flour - I like to use self raising flour in this cake recipe
• Raising agent - I use a little baking powder to help give the cake an extra lift.
• Sea salt - I like to add a pinch of fine sea salt which helps balance the sweetness in the cake.
• Eggs - I use 4 medium free range eggs to bake this cake.
• Vanilla - I flavour the cake with vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, as they have better flavour than vanilla essence.
• Apricots - I used 4 large apricots in this cake recipe which I chopped into 1cm/1/2-inch pieces.
• Almonds - I topped the cake with some flaked almonds.

How to make apricot sponge cake

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160CFan/350F. Grease the sides of the baking tin with butter and a dusting of flour, and line the base of the tin with baking parchment.
• Place the butter and sugar into a large bowl and whisk for 2-3 minutes until well combined, and light and fluffy.
• Add the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs and vanilla extract.

LESLEY'S TOP TIP: Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until pale and fluffy. This is the step that incorporates air into the batter which is key to achieving a light texture.

• Beat through for a minute to a smooth consistency.
• Now add ¾ of the diced apricots to the bowl and stir through with a spoon or spatula.

LESLEY'S TOP TIP: Dust the apricot pieces in a little dusting of flour before adding to the cake batter. This helps avoid the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

• Pour the cake mixture into the prepared baking tin. Take the remaining apricots and scatter over the top of the cake, along with the flaked almonds.
• Place the tin into the hot oven and bake for 50 minutes until the cake is cooked through. To test, insert a cocktail stick into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is baked through. If it comes out sticky, return to the oven for a further 5 minutes and test again.
• Once baked, remove the tin from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. Now remove the cake from the tin and set it back onto the wire rack to cool completely.
• Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.
• Store the cake in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Recipe variations

• Fruit - swap apricots for other stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums or cherries. For the best results choose fruit with a similar moisture content.
• Sugar - I use fine caster sugar in this recipe, but you could also use soft brown sugar if you prefer a deeper molasses flavour.
• Extract - I've opted to flavour the cake with vanilla, but you could swap that for almond extract.
• Spices - for a spiced cake, try some ground cinnamon, cardamon or ginger. Don't be too heavy handed or you risk overpowering the apricot.

Serving suggestions

This easy sponge cake is delicious just as it is. It's a light, moist cake so I don't find to the need to add anything else to it. I just enjoy it with my cup of tea or coffee.

However, if you want to serve it as a dessert, with a spoon of ice cream, cream or crème fraiche that's absolutely fine too.

Useful hints and tips

1. Use ripe but firm apricots for the best texture, as over-ripe fruits can become too soft/soggy when baked, and under-ripe fruits are too tart.
2. Use butter and eggs at room temperature as they whip together and blend better, resulting in a lighter, fluffier sponge.
3. An electric stand or hand mixer makes light work of creaming the butter and sugar together. You can also use a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease to beat the ingredients together.
4. Use a high sided cake tin as this leaves enough space for the sponge cake to rise evenly as it bakes.
5. For nut allergies simply leave the flaked almonds off the top of the cake.
6. For dairy allergies or vegan diners use a dairy free margarine, which I prefer as it does result in a lighter sponge cake.
7. Allergy advice: For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

FAQs

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of my favourite fresh fruit based cake recipes:

• Pear & Almond Traybake (Gluten Free)
• Rhubarb & Almond Loaf Cake
• Rhubarb & Orange Loaf Cake
• Easy Banana Bread
• Lemon & Poppyseed Cake
• Rhubarb & Ginger Cake

If you love baking then have a look at my Fun Baking with Kids, or Best Cake Recipes posts. Here you’ll find lots of hints and tips as well all my favourite baking recipes that are suitable for all ages and abilities.