This gluten-free French apricot cake is the best dessert made with seasonal apricots during the summertime. Roasted apricots inside this flourless cake bring texture and flavor and give the dessert an attractive look.
Yes, summer is calling. The apricot season is short, just a few weeks.
I try to eat stone fruits as much as possible and experiment with new recipes for the apricot jam to give to friends.
Each summer, I make this gorgeous galette, replacing peaches with apricots, fruit cobbler, and, of course, this real treat – apricot and almond cake.
This gluten-free cake is the best go-to summer dessert for people with gluten intolerance.
The recipe may surprise you: a list of simple ingredients results in a delicious loaf cake full of flavors due to apricots and rum.
It is also a combination of textures where the cake is covered with flaked almonds, topped with whipped cream, and decorated with roasted and fresh fruits.
Your dream come true:
Get a 16-page cheat sheet with 120+ ingredients: from cups to grams to ounces and more!
FINALLY
An Essential Weight Conversion Chart!
Why you should try this recipe
- It is a moist cake die to roasted fruits and olive oil.
- Use of almond flour makes a gluten-free cake.
- Adding rum brings an additional flavor.
- A combination of golden velvety apricots with toasted nuts is well balanced in the cake.
- It is perfect for morning coffee and afternoon tea.
- The beautiful decoration of the cake upgrades a simple cake to the decadent cake for any occasion.
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.
Apricots: use large under-ripe or ripe fruits (not the overripe fruit) to soften with roasting.
Vanilla sugar: make it yourself or use store-bought vanilla sugar.
Olive oil: it brings moisture to the cake. If you want to avoid any taste of olive oil in the dessert, replace it with flavorless grape seed oil.
Butter: use the softened unsalted butter. Please bring it to room temperature one to two hours before you start. Do not substitute it for margarine.
Almond flour: use any almond flour or almond meal to make the cake; they all will yield the same tasteful result.
When you measure the flour, spoon it from a package gently into a measuring cup.
Do NOT pack or press it down! Instead, read this article about How to Measure Ingredients.
You can replace almond flour with homemade ground almonds, too.
Rum: dark rum or another kind of rum perfectly works in the recipe.
Flaked almonds: to toast nuts, bring them to the preheated oven at 300 F/150 C and toast them for 10 to 15 minutes.
Whipping cream: use your favorite brand of heavy whipping cream.
Icing sugar: make it at home with a coffee grinder or use store-bought powdered sugar.
Apricot jam or preserves: use the thickest jam or preserves to stick flaked almonds over the cake.
Eggs, egg whites: see notes in the recipe card below regarding the amount conversions.
Separate egg whites from egg yolks using an egg separator while the eggs are cold.
Sugar: use regular sugar; granulated white sugar or caster sugar to make the recipe.
Salt: it enhances the flavors of the cake.
How to make French apricot cake
To roast apricots, preheat the oven to 480 degrees F/250 degrees C. Cut each apricot in half. Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Arrange apricot halves, convex side down. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and olive oil (photo 1).
Bake for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the maturity of apricots. Cool on the baking sheet (photo 2). Decrease oven temperature to 320 degrees F/160 degrees C.
To make the cake batter, beat softened butter with a pinch of salt and ½ cup + ½ tablespoon (120 g) granulated sugar using an electric mixer or a hand whisk (photo 3).
Add rum, half of the eggs slightly beaten with a fork, and half of the almond flour and mix with the hand whisk.
Finally, add the rest of the eggs and almond flour and combine (photo 4).
In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites and the rest of the granulated sugar to soft peaks (photo 5).
Add beaten egg whites to the principal preparation and gently mix with a rubber spatula (photo 6).
Place half of the cake batter in a buttered and floured silicone loaf pan (read on baking with silicone molds). Arrange roasted apricots (photo 7) and keep a few for decoration.
Then cover with the rest of the batter and sprinkle with flaked almonds (photo 8).
Bake at 320 degrees F/160 degrees C for 15 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 295 degrees F/145 degrees C and bake for 45 minutes longer (photo 9).
Remove the cake from the oven, take it out of the cake tin and cool it on a wire rack.
For the cake decoration, heat jam or preserves in a microwave for a few seconds.
Flip the cake upside down, brush it with the jam or preserves using a pastry brush, and cover it with toasted flaked almonds (photo 10). Transfer the cake to a serving platter.
To make whipped cream, whisk whipping cream with icing sugar to obtain whipped cream (photo 11).
Pipe whipped cream on top of the cake, using any tip (I used a tube-star pastry tip), and decorate the top of the cake with roasted apricots and other fruit of your choice (photo 12).
Recipe variations
Feel free to get creative with the cake decoration. For example, you can add more fresh fruits on top of the cake, skip the whipped cream and only arrange roasted apricots.
Or just leave the cake covered with flaked almonds and dusted with icing (powdered) sugar.
Storage
Since this cake is made with fruit and decorated with whipped cream, it should be stored in the fridge for two days. It is not recommended to freeze this cake.
Expert Tips
- Replace apricots with peaches or nectarines cut in slices if you desire.
- Skip rum to make the cake kid-friendly.
- Brush the thickest apricot preserves over the cake to stick flaked almonds.
- Dust the ready cake with icing (powdered) sugar if fresh apricots are not sweet.
- Decorate the top of the cake with the summer fruit of your choice.
Frequently asked question
Since this cake is made with fruit and decorated with whipped cream, it should be stored in the fridge for two days.
Look for gluten-free desserts? Try these next!
Browse all the Gluten-free Desserts
Craving more sweets? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Yummly, and subscribe via email to receive all of the new recipes. Also, have a look at my favorite baking tools I use daily.
Need to adjust your baking pan size?
No worries! This simple cake pan converter is here to help. Now you can easily adjust any size of pan to fit your needs.
Recipe card
French Apricot Cake (Gluten-free)
This gluten-free French apricot cake is the best dessert made with seasonal apricots during the summertime. Roasted apricots inside this flourless cake bring texture, flavor and give the dessert an attractive look.
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For roasted apricots:
- 4 large apricots
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) vanilla sugar
- 5 ½ teaspoons (25 g) olive oil
For the cake batter:
- 2.6 oz (75 g) butter
- ½ cup + 7 teaspoons (145 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup + 5 ½ teaspoons (150 g) whole eggs (see note #1)
- 1 ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons (140 g) almond flour
- ⅓ cup + ½ tablespoon (90 g) egg whites (see note #2)
- 1 teaspoon rum
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1.8 oz (50 g) toasted flaked almonds
For the whipped cream:
- ⅔ cup (150 g) whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon icing sugar
For the decoration:
- whipped cream
- apricot jam
- toasted flaked almonds
- fresh fruit
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
-
To roast apricots, preheat the oven to 480 degrees F/250 degrees C. Cut each apricot in half. Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Arrange fruits, convex side down. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and olive oil. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the maturity of apricots. Cool on the baking sheet.
-
Decrease oven temperature to 320 degrees F/160 degrees C. To make the cake batter, beat softened butter with a pinch of salt and ½ cup + ½ tablespoon (120 g) granulated sugar, using an electric mixer or a hand whisk. Add rum, half of the eggs slightly beaten with a fork, and half of the almond flour and mix with the hand whisk. Finally, add the rest of the eggs and almond flour and combine.
-
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and the rest of the granulated sugar till soft picks. Add beaten egg whites to the principal preparation and gently mix with a rubber spatula. Place half of the cake batter in a buttered and floured silicone loaf pan. Arrange roasted apricots and keep a few for the decoration. Then cover with the rest of the batter and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
-
Bake at 320 degrees F/160 degrees C for 15 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 295 degrees F/145 degrees C and bake for 45 minutes longer. Remove the cake from the oven, take it out of the pan and cool on a rack.
-
To make whipped cream, whisk whipping cream with icing sugar to obtain whipped cream.
-
For the cake decoration, heat jam/preserves in a microwave for a few seconds. Flip the cake upside down, brush it with the jam or preserves using a silicone brush, and cover with toasted flaked almonds. Pipe whipped cream on top of the cake, using any tip (a tube-star pastry tip, as an example), and decorate with roasted apricots and other fruit of your choice.
Notes
- 150 g eggs approximately equal to 3 whole large chicken eggs (eggshell removed).
- 90 g egg whites approximately equal to 2 ½ raw fresh egg whites from extra large-sized chicken eggs.
- Replace apricots with peaches or nectarines cut in slices if you desire.
- Skip rum to make the cake kid-friendly.
- Brush the THICKEST apricot jam/preserves over the cake to stick flaked almonds.
- Dust the ready cake with icing (powdered) sugar if fresh apricots are not sweet.
- Decorate the top of the cake with the summer fruit of your choice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 17.4 g
- Sodium: 94 mg
- Fat: 23.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.9 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 89 mg
Keywords: French apricot cake, apricot almond cake, gluten-free apricot cake, apricot and almond cake
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was adapted from http://nicolas-bernarde.com/. It was originally published on September 10, 2018. The recipe has been updated with new photos, content, and some changes to make it even better. All posted pictures are mine.
Kristine says
This cake sounds absolutely delicious. What a glorious combination of flavors, so perfect for summer!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Thank you Kristine! It is one of the best summer treats! What's more? It is gluten-free!
Elaine says
Delicious cake that is hands-down one of a kind. I mean that apricot-almond combo is soooo gooood. Great way to celebrate the season!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Elaine, yes, this apricot-almond combination is delicious. Once I made this cake, replacing rum with a few drops of almond natural extract. It was so GOOD as well!
Diana Reis says
Apricots and almonds are such a great combination. This cake turned out perfect.
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
I am happy to hear that you loved the recipe! Thank you Diana!
Beth Pierce says
Wow! What a gorgeous looking cake! This will surely impress my family when I serve this for dessert; can't wait to enjoy it!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Thank you Beth. You family will love this cake. I still have the cake in fridge, slicing and snacking it for a whole day:)
Sylvie says
Almond cakes are probably one of my favourite thing to eat, and I absolutely adore apricots in dessert... Such a perfect cake - cannot wait to try it!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Sylvie, you will fall in love with this cake! It is made with almond flour and juicy apricots. What's more? The cake is covered with toasted flaked almonds! Would you like to enhance the almond flavor? Replace rum with a few drops of Almond natural extract. Enjoy!
Jess says
Yay! I LOVE a good gluten-free baked recipe! This almond cake looks delicious! Looks like I'll be trying this one out this weekend!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Jess, this cake is delicious and easy enough to make. You will love it! Please, let me know how the cake turns out:)
Laura | Wandercooks says
This is such a gorgeous cake, I love the burst of sweetness from the apricots paired with crunchy almond flakes. Divine!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Thank you Laura! It is a great complement for this Apricot and Almond cake!
Veena Azmanov says
This looks moist and delicious. Awesome presentation too.
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Thank you Veena! Yes, roasted apricots bring an additional moisture to the cake. Moreover, I truly believe that this apricot/almond combo is one of the most delicious ones.
Noelle says
This was such a delicious cake!! I loved the flavors
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Noelle, I am so happy to hear that you loved the cake!Thank you for letting me know!
Veena Azmanov says
Awesome Combination and presentation too. A must try recipe.
★★★★★
Genevieve says
Mmmm I love anything apricot and this dessert combo sounds amazing!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
So, this Apricot and Almond cake is just for you! Enjoy!:)
Noelle says
Great fruit and nut combo! Love this recipe
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Noelle, I am glad to hear that you love the recipe! Thanks!
Natalie says
This cake looks so delicious and rich! Can't wait to try this recipe on the weekend.
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Natalie, it sounds that your weekend will be delicious! Enjoy this gorgeous cake!:)
Tayo says
This looks amazingly delicious! I definitely can't wait to try it!
★★★★★
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Tayo, you will love the cake! Guaranteed!:)
Priya Lakshminarayan says
Luckily I have all the ingredients! I am making it tonight. Feeling excited 🙂
★★★★★
Irina says
Oh, WOW, Priya! Happy baking! 🙂
Nart says
Yum! I probably won't be able to find apricots, where I live so, will replace those with peaches as you suggested 🙂
★★★★★
Irina says
Perfect, Nart! Peaches will work as well. Please, let me know how it went.
Kathi says
I love anything almond and can't wait to try this!
★★★★★
Irina says
Please, enjoy the recipe, Kathi!
Sara Welch says
I love when apricots are in season for recipes just like this! Looking forward to baking this over the weekend, it seems too good to pass up!
★★★★★
Irina says
Happy baking and enjoy it, Sara! Thanks for visiting the recipe.
Saif says
This cake sounds delicious. I love every ingredient you added in this recipe. I think I might make one.
★★★★★
Irina says
This is the right decision, Saif! 🙂 You will love the cake.
Anita says
Such an awesome cake! It looks impressive, but not too difficult to make, a bonus point for being gluten-free, also.
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you very much, Anita. I love this gluten-option option, too!
Kelley Martin-Adams says
Irina, Can I make this with Keto sugar? It looks AMAZING!!
Irina says
Hello, Kelley! Thanks for your interest in the recipe. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with Keto sugar and have not used it. So, I cannot give you any suggestions.