So officially summer is here, and so are the summer fruits! Cherries, Plums, Apricots, Peaches, Berries…and for me that’s the perfect time to bake yummy goodies with all the fresh fruits. If someone asks me what my favorite dry fruit is, I will say “Apricots”. I also love Apricot Jam, but my hubby hates it. In spite of our differences for this fruit, I managed to convince him to buy a big box of fresh apricots from Costco recently. He wasn’t going to eat any and I knew that I have to find a way to finish them before they rotten, or else he is going to kill me. For me, this would be the first time I taste fresh apricots and I hoped to try some new recipes with the rest.

Apricot belongs to the stone fruit family of Peaches, Cherries, and Plums. It tastes like a mix of sweet and tart, wrapped in a yellow-orange skin which is velvety, and strongly resembles peach.  So now since I have tasted it, the real question arises “What will I do with these beauties? “Pies, Galattes and Tarts were my initial thoughts and the easiest too. But my hubby suggested trying some sort of a fruit cake as I had already baked galattes a few times recently after my last strawberry picking trip. Now, an upside down cake was on to-do list from a long time but I kept on postponing it as I wasn’t keen on trying the very common pineapple version. So I finally heeded to his suggestion and baked this beautiful cake with apricots – my first ever upside down cake.  I was so excited to get to the nerve wracking step of flipping the cake and see the surprise beneath; thankfully it came out very well!!

What’s your favorite upside down cake? Let me know in the comment section below.

Enjoy, Happy Baking!!!

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Apricot Upside Down Cake

Celebrate the Summer with an Apricot Upside Down Cake… Moist and Tender, topped with Buttery Brown Sugar Sweetened Apricots! Perfect for the Holidays…!!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apricot cake, apricot upside down cake, cake

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Akhila

Ingredients

For the fruit base

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 10-12 fresh apricots (pitted, sliced lengthwise)

For the cake

• ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1¼ cup flour
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk (at room temperature)

Instructions

For the fruit base

• Butter a 9 inch cake pan and keep aside.
• In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. When it is completely melted and starts bubbling, add brown sugar. Switch off the flame and stir continuously until it turns into a smooth paste.
• Spread the paste onto the prepared cake pan. Layer the apricot slices over the paste and lightly press to sink in.

For the cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, and keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add granulated sugar and beat well.
• Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
• Add the dry ingredients alternating with milk, mix well until the batter is combined. The batter will be slightly thick.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and layer over the apricot slices.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I baked mine for 50 minutes.
• Allow the cake to cool completely for 15-20 minutes. Carefully flip the cake into a cake stand/plate or any flat surface. Enjoy!

Notes

• Keep your apricot slices ready before preparing the butter/sugar paste, so that you can layer them immediately once the paste is poured into the cake pan. This helps the slices to sink to the bottom of the pan before the paste thickens, and would look pretty once the finished cake is flipped upside down. It also helps the sugar to coat the slices better making it sweeter.
• If you find any fruit pieces stuck to the pan after flipping, don’t worry! Just place it back on the cake to create the beauty as like before – no one will ever know!!!
• Apricots usually tend to be less sweet and may not taste ideal for cakes. So adjust the sugar as needed while making the fruit base.
• I prefer not to remove the skin of apricots as it may turn mushy without skin while baking.

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I hope you all remember the Strawberry picking trip from my recent Peach Strawberry Galatte post, we had an amazing day at the Eckerts Belleville Farm, Illinois and came back home with bags full of strawberries. After making a few galattes & smoothies, I still had some strawberries left and with summer around the corner we decided to finish them up in style by making this yummilicious Strawberry Ice Cream. Like any other gal with a sweet tooth, I too love Ice Cream…! And this is the time of the year you can eat it guilt-free. Homemade Ice Creams were always an un-accomplishable dream for me earlier, as we didn’t have a churning machine I thought we couldn’t make one without it. But, the success of my last year’s No-Churn Oreo Ice Cream gave me the confidence to make my summer Ice Cream batch for the year.

I have used graham crackers in this recipe to resemble the textures of a strawberry cheesecake, but the difference here is that I am not using cream cheese. Using graham crackers is purely optional; you can replace it with fresh strawberry slices, pistachios or any nuts. In a no-churn ice cream recipe, the condensed milk provides the sweet base while the whipped cream gives the creamy texture. When blending the strawberries, make sure not to do it too long as we do not want it to puree, instead do it just enough to break down the fruit. And the end result is an Ice Cream which is Creamy and Smooth…!

Make sure to store the ice cream in an airtight container before freezing or wrap the pan air tight. Allow it to stand at room temperature for a few minutes before serving. This is one of the easiest no–fail fresh fruit desserts which can be prepared in advance for parties and get together.

Enjoy this delicious summer treat…!!!

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No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream

Beat the Summer Heat with this Homemade Cool Treat…! No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream with Crunchy Graham Crackers and Fresh Strawberries… Super, Easy n Delicious…!!!!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword ice cream, no churn, strawberry ice cream

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 2 cups strawberries
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz.)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-5 graham crackers (crushed)

Instructions

• Wash and hull strawberries. Slice into half and blend the strawberries in a blender just enough to break it down, do not puree it.
• Crush the graham crackers and keep aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Fold in condensed milk.
• Line a parchment paper to a standard loaf pan, add half of the whipped cream mix. Pour half of the strawberry sauce evenly as the second layer. Using a toothpick or chopstick, make a swirl (this is purely optional; I love that swirl style on my ice cream while I scoop it). Top with crushed graham cracker bits.
• Repeat the process by pouring the other half of the whipped cream mix, strawberry sauce and graham crackers.
• Wrap it tightly and freeze for at least 6 hrs.
• For best results, let it stand in room temperature for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!

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