striking while the apricot is hot: Italian apricot cake

I am a sucker for cookbooks. If I got to a bookstore, I am going to come home with a cookbook, period. I may never use it, but I'm going to buy one. Usually more. And about 3 months later, I will look at it and wonder "why the hell did I buy it?" and out it will go. Usually, these are books that , ultimately are of dubious long term value: did I REALLY need the book on meat that explained where, on every animal, the different cuts come from? Uh, no. First of all, I know most of that stuff, and second of all, is there any value to this? Well, there's some, if you're confronted with a cut you don't know, and then know that it's from, e.g, the shoulder area, or the loin area, and so forth.
OK, digression over. Recently, while looking for a biography in the science section of the bookstore (why the science section? Because the clerk told me, three times, that it was clear that "biography is in the same section as chemistry. I SWEAR this happened), I noted that the cookbooks were right next to science. That makes sense, kinda. So when I couldn't find my biography, I gravitated to "home," and I found a HUGE book on "Italian summer cooking." This book is a translation of an Italian work, and it's a literal translation.

I LOVE IT. We have all heard about Italian simplicity in the kitchen, then we go to restaurants where we say "THIS is simple? HUH????" Well, this collection of recipes will very much befuddle Americans who are used to very clear, precise instructions. The instructions are good, but for American style recipes, they would be judged somewhat incomplete. Still, there was much to be learned in that book, and one of the things to be learned, at least for me, was this apricot cake recipe.

I shall confess that I might have passed over this recipe, in fact PROBABLY would have passed over it, if I had not had a picture of the cake to look at. And as I love apricots, and their season is peaking, this is the time to do it.

I want you to make this cake. It is wicked easy, and wicked good. Not that sweet, and it makes a bountiful product. Of course, a law firm can polish it off without a thank you in two hours (just sayin'....), but anyway.

Ok, here's the ingredients list. You need 2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature. Then you need 4 large eggs, two cups of granulated sugar, 2 pounds of apricots, 4 cups of unbleached flour, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder. That's it. You might want to add a half teaspoon of salt, it's up to you. Optionally, get half a cup of crushed pistachio nuts.

Preheat your oven to 375. While this is happening, cut up the apricots into small slices. If you have small apricots, quarters. Bigger ones? Sixes and eights. Save the pits. (I'll tell you why, later. Put them in the freezer). Now, in a mixer, or by hand, if you're strong, combine the butter and sugar until it's well mixed and very light colored. Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each one is combined. Then, stir in the apricots, and then the flour. This is where you need to be strong armed. Finally, dissolve the baking powder in about a teaspoon of water (the recipe calls for "a little water), and stir that in.

You will have a VERY thick batter. Spoon this into a 9 inch, buttered pan, and if you use the nuts, sprinkle them over the cake. Put it into the oven and bake it for at least an hour. You have to make judgements here, because with that much fruit, the cake will never pass the "straw in the middle test." If it looks too soggy, let it bake some more. But an hour and a quarter should be more than sufficient.

Unfortunately, this cake does not keep all that well. Whatever you do, do NOT cover it with plastic. It will hold moisture and rot and taste really, really nasty. So share it with friends, your office, or whomever. And when apricots are out of season, try it with another fruit. The Italians will approve.