Austrian Apricot Sheet Cake

A traditional Austrian summer cake. Delicate yellow batter, scraped into a sheet pan, dimpled with halved raw apricots. Canned apricots can be used instead of fresh. During baking, the cake rises up around the apricot halves, which sink down into the batter. I have used canned apricots, and made half a recipe as the original recipe makes quite a large cake.  

The cake batter is so simple to make, and it takes about 25 to 30 minutes to bake. Once the cake is has cooled down, dust evenly with confectioners' sugar before serving.

This is a lovely cake, with moist, soft, light and airy crumb. It is not too sweet, a definite plus in my books! We wish we had some ice cream in the freezer to go with this lovely cake. Maybe the next time! This recipe is a keeper! According to the author, this is the kind of crowd-pleasing cake you'll want to make year-round.

Austrian Apricot Sheet Cake (Marillenfleck)
(Classic German Baking, Luisa Weiss)
Makes 1 (13x18-inch) cake
1.5kg ripe apricots or 3 (432gms cans) apricot halves, drained
200gm unsalted butter
200gm all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
200gm confectioners' sugar, plus more for garnish
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated peel of 1/2 organic lemon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line a 13 by 18 by 1-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash, dry, halve, and pit the apricots, and set aside.
2. Melt the butter and remove from the heat as soon as it has melted. While the butter is melting, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat with a whisk or with the whisk attachment just until no lumps remain. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract, grated lemon peel, and lemon juice just until combined. Beat in the remaining flour mixture and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
4. Scrape the batter onto the prepared pan, spreading it out into the corners. Place the apricot halves, cut-side up, on the cake batter, distributing them evenly and leaving only a little bit of space between them.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the cake (not an apricot) comes out clean.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack. When the rack is completely cool, dust evenly with more confectioners' sugar, cut into squares, and serve.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #35 

Savoury Onion Cake

I made this Savoury Onion Cake, which is a yeasted bread with onions and bacon topping, from Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss. 

According to the author, "Zwiebelkuchen, which translates literally to "onion cake", is a yeasted bread topped with sauteed onions, bacon, caraway seeds and beaten eggs that is baked until golden brown and blistery". It is a soft yeasted bread similar to a focaccia, with the topping similar to a quiche (minus the cream and milk). 

Very easy dough to work with; soft, smooth and silky.

To make the topping, saute some chopped bacon in a large saucepan, then add the sliced onions, caraway seeds and pepper, continue to cook until the onions are coloured. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

Place the risen dough in a 10-inch round cake pan, (I have used a 9" square pan instead), pushing the dough to cover the base, and set aside for 30 ninutes, covered. Meanwhile, beat some eggs and add to the onion mixture, I've added a pinch of salt. Scrape the mixture onto the dough and bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. If the onions are browning too quickly, tent the top with a piece of foil.

It smells really delicious while baking.

And it tasted delicious. The bread has very soft lovely crumb and the topping is very tasty. I've used 3/4 teaspoon of caraway seeds, which is just about right. I love the caramelized onions with the caraway seeds. I would gladly make this again. Yums! 

Click on the link here, for the recipe and overall review on this fabulous book, Classic German Baking.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #26 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray