Easy Apricot Cake – light, soft, moist

This cake with fresh apricots is light, soft, moist, and flavorful. It’s easy to make from scratch and only needs a few simple ingredients!

Easy fruit sheet cake

Who doesn’t love sheet cake with fresh fruits? Exactly! I love to make this easy apricot sheet cake during summer when apricots are in season and most flavorful.

Fruit substitutions

This cake not only tastes terrific with fresh apricots but with plums or peaches too. Just make sure to quarter larger fruits, like peaches, as they will be quite heavy and sink into the batter otherwise.

Different pans and sheets

I used a 9-by-13 inch (23x33 cm) baking pan for this cake to get a nice and tall cake. But a jelly roll pan (10-by-15 inch or 26x38 cm) will work great too. If you want to make a small sheet cake using an 8-inch square pan, you’ll need to cut the ingredients in half.

I hope you enjoy this easy apricot cake. Please leave me a comment and rating if you do!

Print Recipe

Easy Apricot Cake – light, soft, moist

This cake with fresh apricots is light, soft, moist, and flavorful. It’s easy to make from scratch and only needs a few simple ingredients!

Author: carbgirl.com

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Yield: 10 servings (9x13-inch pan, see notes)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (1 kg) fresh apricots
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 14 tablespoons (200 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar (only use ¾ cup sugar (=165 g) for low-sugar version)
• ½ cup (120 g) sour cream
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 organic lemon, for zest
• 2 ⅓ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 °F (or 175 °C) using top and bottom heat. Grease a 9-by-13 inch (23x33 cm) baking pan with soft or melted butter or line the pan with parchment paper.
• Rinse apricots, halve them and remove the pits.
• Separate the eggs and put the egg whites in a large bowl together with a pinch of salt. Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• In another bowl, beat softened butter, sugar, and egg yolks until creamy and pale, about 7 minutes.
• Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and grated lemon zest. Beat until combined.
• Combine flour and baking powder and stir them into the egg mixture, until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Fold in half of the beaten egg whites to loosen the batter. Then, fold in the second half.
• Add the batter to the pan and spread evenly using a spatula.
• Top batter with apricot halves, cut side up, leaving only a little bit of space in between. I know it is tempting, but do not press the apricots into the batter. The batter will rise around the apricots during baking.
• Bake the cake at 350 °F (175 °C) until golden on top, for about 45 minutes. A wooden toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean or with a few crumbs.
• Let the cake cool - at least a few minutes - cut into squares and enjoy! Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if you like.
• The cake – like all fruit cakes - tastes best when eaten on the same day. Store leftover cake well wrapped in the fridge and eat within 2 days. It freezes well too!

Notes

Which pan/sheet to use?

A 9-by-13 inch (23x33 cm) baking pan makes a nice and tall cake. But a jelly roll pan (10-by-15 inch or 26x38 cm) will work great too. If you want to make a small sheet cake using an 8-inch square pan, you’ll need to cut the ingredients in half.