German Apricot Cake with Meringue | Aprikosenkuchen mit Baiser
A sweet, yeasted cake base topped with fresh apricots, sliced almonds, and crunchy meringue. This is a perfect way to use up the summer's bounty. The apricots can be swapped with any fresh, in-season fruit.
Ingredients
Cake Base
- 250 ml whole milk, warmed 1 cup
- 13 g instant yeast 1½ tbsp / 40g fresh yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 500 g all-purpose flour 4 cups
- pinch of salt
- 125 g sugar ⅔ cup
- 125 g unsalted butter, melted and then cooled 9 tbsp
- 1 egg
- 1 kg fresh apricots, pitted and halved 2¼ lbs
- 50 g sugar ¼ cup
- 50 g sliced almonds ¼ cup
Meringue Topping
- 4 egg whites, at room temperature
- 175 g powdered sugar 1½ cups
Instructions
Making the Cake
- Stir together the warmed milk, yeast, and teaspoon of sugar in a medium-sized bowl and let the mixture bloom for 5 minutes.
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add in the flour, salt, and sugar. Give it a quick stir to combine and then add in the melted butter, egg, and bloomed yeast mixture from the previous step. Mix everything on medium speed until a smooth dough forms.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and place it in a covered bowl until it has doubled in size. This will take about an hour, but it can vary depending on the temperature of the room.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release the gas and then roll it out onto a lightly floured surface. You will be rolling it out to match the size and shape of your baking sheet (about 18×13" or 45×33 cm). When you have a rectangle roughly the size of your baking sheet, pick up the dough carefully by rolling it onto your rolling pin. Transfer it to your buttered baking sheet. Then, use your hands to press the dough evenly into the corners and edges of the pan.
- Evenly arrange the halved apricots cut-side down on the dough and then sprinkle them with the sugar. Sprinkle the almonds over the exposed dough base.
Making the Meringue
- Put the egg whites into a medium-sized bowl and beat them on high speed with an electric mixer until they become white and foamy. Begin adding in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time and continue beating until all the sugar is incorporated and stiff, glossy peaks have formed. Spoon the finished meringue into piping bags fit with a fluted tip.
- Pipe the meringue in a squiggle pattern across the top of the apricots and in rosettes over the cake base.
Finishing the Cake
- Bake the cake at 350℉ / 180℃ for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the meringue is lightly toasted. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes. The cake can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature, but be sure to eat it the day it is made because it gets quite soggy by the next day because of the fresh fruit.
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