Apricot Crumbcake

-CAKE BATTER-
1/2 c Unsalted butter; softened 1 1/4 c All-purpose flour
3/4 c Sugar 1 ts Baking powder
1 ts Vanilla extract

Use this recipe with peaches, sour cherries or pineapple with equally
good results. CAKE BATTER: PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350F. Butter a 10-inch
round, 2-inch deep cake pan and line the bottom with a disk of
parchment or wax paper. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and
sugar until soft and light. Add the egg and continue beating until
light. Add the yolks one at a time, beating well between each
addition. Beat in the vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking
powder and stir into the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the
prepared pan. Rinse and halve the apricots. Remove the pits with the
bowl of a small spoon if they resist. Arrange the apricot halves
cut-side up on the batter in concentric rows, overlapping slightly,
leaving a margin of about 1-inch around the edge. Don’t be concerned
if the apricots mound slightly in the center of the cake; the top
will even out as the cake bakes. CRUMB TOPPING: FOR THE CRUMBS, mix
the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Melt the butter and stir it
in evenly. Rub the mixture to coarse crumbs by hand. Scatter the
crumbs over the apricots and the edge of the batter as evenly as
possible. Bake the cake 1 hour until a knife inserted in the center
comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes and
invert a plate on it. Invert onto the plate and lift off the pan.
Peel off the paper and invert a rack on the cake. Invert cake onto
the rack, remove the plate and cool. NICK MALGIERI – PRODIGY GUEST
CHEFS COOKBOOK

Yields
8 servings