Upside-down cakes are culinary classics; pineapple upside-down cake is certain to feature in almost every novice cook's early attempts at cooking as it's pretty much foolproof and damn tasty to boot. I certainly remember making one in home economics class in high school, complete with lurid red glace cherries.
These baby cakes are a variation on the theme and are low fat, bursting with flavour, and very quick to prepare. Perfect for busy mums. I halved the recipe as I'm still dieting and too many cakes lying around the house are a sure-fire recipe for disaster at the scales. The original recipe was pretty straightforward, so I didn't bother fiddling with any of the quantities. As far as I can tell, it worked perfectly.
If you don't fancy apricots you could of course vary the fruit used. A variation on a variation--cute. Pineapple is the obvious option, but a slice of peach and a couple of juicy raspberries would be divine.
I'll definitely be making these cakes again; after one bite I was regretting only making six and by the time I'd finished the first one I was eyeing the other five speculatively. Alas, Dave would have noticed if all the cakes vanished and Lucas isn't old enough to become a glutton's scapegoat yet. Ah well, I have four of these lovely, lovely cakes sitting in the kitchen, just waiting to find a home in my tummy. Oh well, that's breakfast sorted then....
But I digress. The apricots turned out meltingly soft and caramelised and the cake which tenderly blankets them is soft, sweet and chewy in places. While they were cooking I could only smell the vanilla, but it's very much a background flavvour in the finished product with almonds taking centre stage alongside the apricots.
How long till breakfast?
Apricot upside-down cakes
Makes 6
WW (UK) points: 2 per cake
Source: The Australian Women's Weekly, Low-fat food for life
½ tablespoon light muscovado sugar
6 canned apricot halves in juice, drained (the smallest can you can find will be perfect for this)
1 large egg
75g light muscovado sugar
45g ground almonds
25g self-raising flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons skimmed milk
To finish:
20g baker's glaze (or apricot conserve)
Preheat oven to 180C / 160C fan oven / Gas Mark 4. If you have a regular six-hole muffin tin, then grease all holes, otherwise, grease six holes of a 12-hole tin.
Sprinkle the half tablespoon of sugar evenly into the six prepared holes. Place one apricot half in each, cut-side down.
Beat egg and rest of sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in remaining ingredients with the exception of the glaze/conserve. The mixture will resemble a batter rather than a traditional cake mixture.
Spoon evenly over the apricots and bake for about 20 minutes until the top of a cake is springy and not sticky. Stand for five minutes and then turn out onto wire rack. You may need to run a knife around the edges of the cakes to help them out.
Melt baker's glaze/conserve in a pan or in the microwave. Brush over hot cakes. You should have just enough for a thin coat on the tops.
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Comments
I love the thought of using something other than pineapple in upside down cakes. This looks great!
1. Posted by Kristen on February 25, 2007
I'm quite lazy and buy ready made white cake. I douse it with orange liqueur and put canned peaches on top. I make a reduction with the syrup and sprinkle over the cake. You can add creme fraiche for that extra kick of freshness. ;) Not WW friendly tho!!
2. Posted by Cassie's Kitchen Recipes on February 25, 2007
Thanks, Kristen!
Your lazy version sounds great, Cassie! It wouldn't be that WW unfriendly, either. I'll happily skip breakfast for a really good dessert in the evening ;) Shh... they might throw me out for admitting that!
3. Posted by Angela![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.aspoonfulofsugar.net/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
on
March 3, 2007
The missing sharpness in the picture is a pity, but the text is well done to read and enjoy
4. Posted by Liz on July 19, 2007