If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I have working on my first cookbook. I can’t tell you enough how excited I am because it has always been my dream to write a cookbook, since I started this blog about six years ago. It is a French pastry cookbook for beginners, and I can’t wait to share more details! It was a great deal of work – developing the recipes, shooting the photos and editing, which was why I neglected the blog for so long. I wanted to ease myself back in with an easy summer recipe – Cardamom Honey Pistachio Apricot Cake. Thank goodness I am done with the writing for now, and I want to bake simple things.
This recipe is actually an up-side down cake, and I love how the honey on the bottom slowly cooks the apricots as the cake bakes. It is so heavenly!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup liquid honey
- 5-6 apricots, halved (ripe, but firm)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, finely ground
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup crushed pistachios, for garnish
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F / 175 C. Butter and line a 8-inch round cake pan with a piece of 13-inch round parchment paper, so the bottom and side are all lined.
- Spread the honey evenly onto the prepared cake pan, and place the apricot halves cut-side down onto the honey. Set this aside while you prepare the cake batter.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. In a mixer bowl, place the ground pistachios, sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cardamom. Mix the dry ingredients with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 20 seconds. Add in the softened butter, and continue mixing on how for 30 seconds. Add in the liquid ingredients, and mix on low for another 1.5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and finish the mixing on low for 30 more seconds.
- Pour the batter over the prepared cake pan, and spread the batter evenly to level the cake. Place the cake pan on a baking sheet. Bake the bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, to 1 hour and 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The cake is ready when a cake tester is inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake completely before serving. To serve, carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter, and garnish the top with the crushed pistachios. It will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
After a winter and spring long baking marathon for the cookbook, I just want to bake something that is not classically French – the opposite of what I have been doing. This cake is the perfect summer treat, especially we are in the midst of a heat wave in Vancouver, where apricots are only in season for few weeks. It is light, yet not too sweet. The sweet honey balances the tartness of the apricot. We are currently featuring a Middle Eastern inspired seasonal menu at the bakery, which inspired the flavours of this cake. Honey, pistachio, and cardamom are some of the classic ingredients used in Middle Eastern desserts.
Needless to say, the cardamon and pistachios are so delicious together, and the juicy apricots keep the cake very moist. What summer fruits do you like to bake with?
More summer fruit desserts from the blog:
- Apricot Marzipan Honey Thyme Tart
- Maple Bourbon Roasted Peach Galette
- Coconut Peach-Raspberry Upside-Down Cake
- Plumcot Almond Bostock
- Olive Oil Cake with Fresh Peaches

This is one of the best cakes I’ve ever tasted. I came across the recipe yesterday when I was looking for a way to use up some apricots that were close to going bad. It’s perfectly moist, not too sweet, and the flavor is superb. A million thanks for sharing this recipe!
Glad you like it 🙂