Grey, with a side of apricot.

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So it's almost June, and you'd think the weather would be lovely and bright and sunny and warm, like the photo above. Nope. It's grey and wet, with a chill in the air. That's not helping my back-from-mn-induced hangover. I feel like there's so much I could be doing but I'm just not motivated. Does anyone else feel that way when you're back from a fantastic break? 

The other day, though, we decided we needed some summery sweetness in our lives, and found it in the form of these tiny apricot cakes. We didn't have the called-for vanilla extract, so I substituted almond, and it definitely worked. The recipe originally called for using a 12-cup muffin pan, but I filled our 6-cup muffin pan a bit more so we ended up having six little cakes instead of a dozen teeny, tiny ones. They're light, fluffy, and perfect for an easy dessert at the end of a late spring meal..and just might make you forget that it's only 50 degrees outside. 

Apricot Cakes, adapted from Bon Appetit. 
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1 cup flour

1 1/2  tsp. baking powder

1/4  salt

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for buttering the muffin pan

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 egg

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. almond extract

1/3 cup milk

2 apricots, halved, pitted, cut into thin slices

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 6-cup muffin pan. Whisk first three dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add egg, zest, and almond extract and beat until combined, about 1 more minute. 

With the mixer on its lowest speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk (begin and end with the flour mixture). Pour batter into muffin cups and smooth the tops. Top with sliced apricots and sprinkle on sugar. 

Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer muffin pan to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove cakes and let cook completely. It's like having summer in one bite.