An Easygoing Almond Cake That Hugs Your Summer Fruit

There's an argument to be made for eating summer fruit in its raw, fresh form and leaving it at that. It's difficult to imagine a pleasure more intense than the first bite of a ripe peach or sweet apricot or sun-warmed cherry. And that's an argument I do make to myself a lot; and keeping the oven off in the summer's heat is easy to do, too.

But let me fly in the face of all of that here and convince you (nay, urge you!) to crank up that oven and bake this apricot cake.

This cake is ideal for so many situations (and yes, breakfast is one of them). It's not too sweet, and has a fantastically tender crumb and nutty flavor thanks to almond flour. You can use almond meal from skin-on almonds, as I did, which will give the cake a darker color. You can also use the lighter-colored almond meal that's more commonly available if you want a less "toasty" looking cake. But while we are on the subject, I highly recommend toasting your almond meal from time to time to vary the flavor profile in this cake.

Here's why I know you'll love this cake: it's strikingly pretty with the halved apricots on top, so you can bring it to a dinner party or picnic or barbecue and garner lots of compliments for your baking prowess. It's wholesome enough for people who like that whole wholesome thing (given all that fruit and almond flour), but fully hits the spot as a dessert for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Best of all, you can use any fruit you like! I've made it with halved pitted cherries scattered across the surface. It's lovely with sliced peaches, and I imagine it would be fantastic with pears sprinkled with a bit of cardamom come fall. Try it with raspberries or sliced apples, and please report back in the comments.