Chocolate Marble Apricot Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Topping and Fruit:
1 cup dried apricots, quartered
2/3 cup apricot or peach juice, heated
½ cup fruit-only apricot spread
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

Cake:
1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Chocolate Swirl:
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 ounce semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. To prepare topping and fruit, place apricots in a heatproof bowl; pour boiling juice over them. Soak 45 minutes. Drain, reserving juice and fruit. Combine juice with fruit spread.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Coat a 9- or10-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Pour in melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter, pressing with fingertips. Spoon juice mixture over sugar; top with apricots.
4. To prepare cake, place butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg.
5. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Spread two-thirds of the batter over fruit.
6. Add cocoa and chocolate to remaining batter. Drop chocolate batter, by spoonfuls, over vanilla batter. Swirl batter with a knife tip, being careful not to stir apricots.
7. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until vanilla portions of cake are golden brown. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes, and invert onto a serving plate. Serves 8.



Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, Relish Classic Dishes, April 2008.

Per serving: 440 calories, 14g fat, 60mg chol., 6g prot., 78g carbs., 2g fiber, 380mg sodium.