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 and flavor and give the dessert an attractive look.

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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.

Why you should try this recipe

1. It is a moist cake die to roasted fruits and olive oil.
2. Use of almond flour makes a gluten-free cake.
3. Adding rum brings an additional flavor.
4. A combination of golden velvety apricots with toasted nuts is well balanced in the cake.
5. It is perfect for morning coffee and afternoon tea.
6. 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 this 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. Arrange roasted apricots (photo 7) and keep a few for the 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 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 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 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

1. Replace apricots with peaches or nectarines cut in slices if you desire.
2. Skip rum to make the cake kid-friendly.
3. Brush the thickest apricot preserves over the cake to stick flaked almonds.
4. Dust the ready cake with icing (powdered) sugar if fresh apricots are not sweet.
5. Decorate the top of the cake with the summer fruit of your choice.

Frequently asked question

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Recipe card

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Theinitiallyal 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. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Under no circumstances will Baking Like a Chef be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information. You are solely responsible for all decisions about your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

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.