Apricot Cornmeal Cakes
Make the most of summer stone fruit. Apricot Cornmeal Cakes, made with cornmeal cake batter, is a luxurious yet homey treat for any occasion.
Cake. The word and the associations make me smile.
Cake means celebration. Cake means love. Cake means someone specifically spent time on you.
I often sit around trying to dream up a reason to make cake. Sometimes it’s a small family milestone or a handful of friends coming over on a week night. Any miniscule excuse to revel in life and sugar will do.
I’ve been known to turn a non-occasion into an ordeal, just so I can make a fancy cake.
What can I say? Cake makes me giddy.
I have a few tried-and-true cake recipes that stand as a base for all my cake variations. One of which is a classic cornmeal cake. I’ve turned my cornmeal cake recipe into a lot of things over the years, but today it’s become an apricot cake.
Tah-dah!
A goal of mine is to always provide balance and contrast to every dish. I happen to think of apricots as a dainty fruit, so it seemed only right to combine them with this hearty corn meal cake. The marriage of the delicate, petite apricots and the rustic cake is a match made in heaven.
This sweet Apricot Cornmeal Cakes recipe is a wonderful addition to any celebration, be it a July 4th picnic or an elegant summer soiree.
More Fruity Treats:
Blueberry White Chocolate Blondies
4th of July Cocktail Cooler Popsicles ~ Endless Simmer
Nectarine Up-Side-Down Cake ~ Add A Pinch
Berry Cheesecake Bars ~ Epicurean Mom
Apricot Cornmeal Cakes
Ingredients
- 7 small ripe apricots cut into 8 slices each
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice + 1/4 teaspoon divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12-14 paper liners. Using the electric mixer, cream 1 cup of butter and 1 cup sugar until extremely light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Don't rush this!
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat in. Scrape the bowl with a spatula. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and 2 tsp. of five spice.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until just combine. Do not over mix.
- Scoop the batter into 12-14 muffin liners with a 1/4-cup scoop. Place 4 apricot slices in a pinwheel pattern on the top of each mini cornmeal cake.
- Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice, then sprinkle over the apricot cakes. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Omg—YUM.
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Sommer, I wanted to let you know how much my husband and I love this recipe. I blogged my adaptation of it, with appropriate credit to you, of course. Your idea of adding Chinese Five-Spice Powder is just genius!
daisy
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Summer, I’m going to make these this week. The idea of apricots and five-spice powder is so intriguing. Can’t wait to taste one!
These look so pretty and perfect for entertaining! I think I’ll make them for a baby shower I’m hosting soon!
Yum these are so cute! Even though they are called “cakes” I think they would be perfect for a saturday morning breakfast ;)
This recipe from Bon Appetit is fabulous. Might want to site your work jsut in case they come after you ;) gorgeous photography!
Such pretty little muffins! Mmmm!
These look great! Has anyone tried these with all purpose gluten-free flour? I am always looking for truly good-tasting, GF recipes with normal as possible texture. The cornmeal in these might just hide the slight grittiness inherent in baking with GF flour.
These guys look crazy good! And now I want a green stand mixer too.
Lovely sommer! This looks so delicious! I LOVE apricots!
That looks wonderful. I would never think of combining appricot and corn.
Cake makes me smile too :) I have a cornmeal cake recipe that I use quite often for brunch, and I love the idea of pairing it with apricots. These sound delicious, and they look so pretty!
You won’t believe this but I actually pinned this in my “Baked Breakfast” board. I know it’s a dessert, but it just looks like it would be perfect for breakfast. Well, honestly, it would be perfect any time of day. Great recipe!
Oh my gosh, these are looking amazing. I am surely gng to try it !