Carrot Apricot Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a little of the butter to grease a 9-inch round baking pan with a removable bottom. Dust the pan with a little of the flour. Sift the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.
• Cream the remaining butter with the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour mixture and the vanilla.
• Spread the batter in the baking pan. Arrange the apricot slices on the top. Put in the oven and bake about 25 minutes, until the top of the cake looks fairly firm and is just beginning to brown.
• Sprinkle with the granulated sugar, return to the oven and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cake is nicely browned. Remove from the oven, allow to cool 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan. Serve the cake while it is still warm, with creme fraiche, whipped cream or vanilla frozen yogurt on the side.

Steps:

• 1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Blend together in mixer on medium speed: sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground cloves and allspice. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend well on medium speed for approximately 5 minutes. Fold in carrots, nuts, raisin and apricots. until well blended. Distribute batter evenly into 3 or 4 (9-inch) cake pans, which have been generously greased. Bake 20 minutes if 4 skinny layers, 25 minutes if 3 layers or check with toothpick for completely baked cakes. Remove from oven cool completely on racks right side up in the pans. After 15 minutes, invert cakes onto racks to remove from pans. Place cakes in freezer for 30 minutes before frosting them. This process is the easiest way to frost a cake without crumbs in the icing.
• 2. To make the frosting: Blend cream cheese until smooth on low speed, add in softened butter until blended. Add in sugar 1 cup at a time on medium speed until frosting is smooth and creamy. Then blend in the vanilla.
• 3. Remove cakes from freezer. Place first layer, bottom side down, in center of cake plate. With a spatula, evenly distribute frosting on 1st layer. Center second layer on top of first layer with topside down, and repeat process on each layer. On final top layer before the frosting is added, use both hands and press firmly but gently, all layers together to get one firm cake. With spatula, spread remainder of frosting to cover top and sides of cake. Garnish top with some finely chopped nuts, then refrigerate.