Summer is my favorite time to bake, mostly because of the abundance of fresh fruit. Every Saturday morning, I go to the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market in St. Louis and see what’s available. Usually, I have to wait until later in the summer to find some of my favorite stone fruit (peaches, cherries, apricots), but this year, they’re in season early. I think I spent more on stone fruit yesterday than I do on my monthly yoga membership, which in some ways is comforting, and in others, horrifying.

However, it’s worth it because like I said, the fruit is so beautiful and delicious. When I saw the apricots at the Friedel Family Farm stand yesterday, I immediately knew what I was going to make: Apricot coffee cake.

Coffee cake is a vehicle for the best in-season fruit. You can pretty much throw anything into it and it will turn out well. Now that I’ve made this apricot version, I’m thinking of doing a riff with peaches and raspberries (a peach melba combination), or even one with fresh figs because those also looked-and tasted-good at the market this weekend. My friend William who owns Confluence Kombucha let me try a fig yesterday when I visited his stand, and I’m not sure if I was delirious from spending $50+ on fruit, or just really happy to be at the market, but they tasted better than they ever have before.

ANYWAY. Before I keep going on this tangent, I’ll get back to the coffee cake. It’s a very simple recipe that comes together quickly in the morning. You essentially mix some butter, flour, and baking powder together, throw in a little sugar, egg and milk, spread it in a pan, and top it with apricots and a little custard-esque mixture, and bake. It’s my favorite genre of baked good: One that looks super impressive but is deceptively simple to make.

You can serve the cake as is, or you can do what I did and dust a little powdered sugar on top. I’d actually recommend the powdered sugar because overall, the cake itself is not too sweet. I have a huge sweet tooth, so I thought the extra sugar was needed.

Here’s a song to get you started on your apricot coffee cake. This is the song of summer 2024, and I’m not taking any other nominations.

Apricot Coffee Cake

Ingredients

225 grams all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
150 grams butter, plus more for greasing the pan
125 grams sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1 pint ripe apricots, quartered
1 Tbsp crème fraîche (you can substitute heavy cream and/or sour cream)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan with butter and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on medium low until combined, or the butter is in little flakes. Add the sugar and beat the mixture again. Add the egg and milk and beat the mixture until it is just combined. It should be pretty thick. If it looks too dry, add a little bit more milk. Do not overmix.

Spread the batter into your prepared pan and place the apricots on top in a circle with the skin side down. Beat the crème fraîche, sugar, and egg in a small bowl until thoroughly combined, then pour it evenly on top of the batter.

Bake the cake for about 40 minutes or until it’s golden brown on top. Turn off the oven and let it sit in there for 10 more minutes. Let it cool completely before you sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Enjoy!