Apricot Yogurt Cake from Carpathia

June 14, 2020

Before apricot season bids a final farewell for the year, I wanted to squeeze in *one* more apricot recipe here on the blog. This beautiful and light apricot yogurt cake comes from the new cookbook by Irina Georgescu, Carpathia. Carpathia is a love letter to Romanian cooking, packed to the brim with delicious comforting recipes and awe-inspiring images that show the sweeping natural beauty of this country. It’s one of those cookbooks that you immediately flip through from start to finish as soon as you open it for the first time, drinking up all the magic, unable to stop yourself. Reading it felt like a journey into the heart of Romania, and it was so nice to feel like I got to travel someplace new (at least in my imagination! Hello, quarantine.)

I love this simple apricot yogurt cake because it isn’t loaded with sugar like a lot of American desserts tend to be, and really allows the juiciness and rich flavor of the apricots to shine through. It’s the *perfect* accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee or tea, or a post-meal sweet. It’s served with a garnish of powdered sugar, but if you *really* want to take the sweetness up a notch, you could drizzle some honey or maple syrup over it before serving, too. It depends on how big your sweet tooth is.

This apricot yogurt cake is super easy to prepare, with only a handful of ingredients, and is a great dessert to make if you want to share something that looks very fancy, but in actuality is profoundly simple and stress-free to assemble. In all honesty, these are my favorite kinds of sweets to make. The ones that require very little time and energy, but always reward you with something vibrant and delicious. They’re the kinds of baked goods that easily become a habit or a routine, and end up with many beautiful ‘everyday’ memories tied up in them. Highly recommend checking out the other amazing recipes in Carpathia!

Also, I wanted to share a few words about the events of the last few weeks here in the US. As someone whose life and livelihood revolves around food, one of the things I love most about it is its ability to bring people together. While I will be getting back to work creating recipes to share with you guys, I will be continuing to do the work on myself, and progressing on this anti-racist journey.

Don’t take me posting food + gardening as going back to ‘business as usual’, I’m continuing to implement these changes in my life, it’s just not my place to lead on a subject I am *very* much a student in. There are so many gifted experts on this subject, and these are the folks we should be looking to for next steps. I’ve enrolled in Monique Melton‘s Anti-Racism 101 online course and am looking forward to becoming a better ally to the Black community, and hope that you continue to do the work on yourself as well.

And to everyone who has used their voice to call for change, or messaged words of encouragement to others, thank you. I am so encouraged by the support I’ve seen here in the food community and on the streets of Portland as we’ve marched together. As I come across it, I will continue to share relevant and helpful information on IG to support the cause, because I am lucky enough to have all you beautiful people here with me who have shown me again and again how much you care. Through hard work and perseverance, I truly believe we can change society for the better. <3

Apricot Yogurt Cake from the Carpathia Cookbook

3 eggs (whites and yolks separated)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup olive oil or rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-5 fresh apricots, halved
3 tablespoons powdered sugar, for dusting
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a deep 9 x 13-inch baking pan and line it completely with parchment paper. Set is aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the egg yolks and sugar for 1 minute at medium low speed. Then add the oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, and salt, mixing well to emulsify.
Transfer the yolk mixture to a separate large bowl and set aside. Thoroughly clean the stand mixer bowl (you will be using it to beat egg whites, and if there's a speck of oil on the bowl the whites won't beat properly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Set aside.
Add the flour and baking powder to the yolk mixture and stir to combine. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until incorporated.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, then arrange the apricot halves on top, cut-side up. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the cake is golden on top and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan, then dust with the powdered sugar and drizzle with the honey (optional) and cut into pieces to serve.