Apricot, Almond, & Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla and Lemon

This apricot, almond, & olive oil cake is incredibly moist, and the flavors of the apricots, lemon zest, almond flour, and vanilla seeds combine perfectly to create a delicate and tasty cake.

This cake can be served as a dessert, a coffee cake for breakfast, as well as a tea cake. It stays fresh for a couple of days, and also freezes nicely. Just slice it and individually wrap each piece before freezing to save some for later.

The cake is really easy to make, with no mixer necessary. You can actually make this cake in an hour, start to finish, baking time included. I also think this is a great cake to make with kids.

I actually made this cake twice before posting, because the first cake was under done in the center. I definitely recommend using a wooden skewer or toothpick to check the middle. I had used a metal cake tester, which came out clean. Fortunately all was not lost, as the rest of the cake was delicious, which is why I decided to make it again.

This time, I used a darker pan and a toothpick to test the cake, and it came out perfectly. If you don't care for the darker crust from the dark pan, just be sure to test the center.

Apricot, Almond, & Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla and Lemon

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (175 grams) sugar

1 cup milk

zest of one lemon (I used a large lemon)

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (you can substitute 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste)

1 1/3 cups (190 grams) unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup (25 grams) almond meal

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

5 to 6 apricots, quartered (fresh or canned)

Slivered almonds for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter or spray a 9 inch springform or cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. In a small sauce pan, mix the sugar, milk, zest, vanilla bean, and seeds. Heat the ingredients, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves, and immediately remove the mixture from the heat. Let cool for about 15 minutes. 
4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the almond meal. 
5. Add the olive oil and eggs, and the milk mixture (remove the vanilla beans), and whisk gently until you have a smooth batter. 
6. Scrape the batter into the cake pan, smooth the top, and arrange the apricots on top of the batter (they will sink during baking). Sprinkle with the slivered almonds. 
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean from the center. 
8. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove it from the pan and allow to cool completely.