Sweet. Fragrant. Beautiful. These three words come to my mind when we are talking about apricot. It’s one of the most valueable and healthy fruits. It’s perhaps the best source of vitamin A, beside this it’s rich of vitamin C, beta carotene and sulfur.

According to the legend apricot is the secret of long life. Thanks to the fruit’s versatility you can find thousands of recipes usign apricot. Here is my favorite one, summer is unimaginable to me without this pie.

Ingredients:
For the batter:

• 100 g (~1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 100 g (~1/2 cup) sugar
• seeds of a half vanilla bean
• 1 egg
• 150 g (~1 1/4 cup) flour
• 1 lemon
• 50 g (~1/3 cup) corn starch
• 7 g (~2 tsp) baking powder
• 3-4 tbsp milk
• 3-4 tbsp apricot jam
• 500 g (~1 lb) apricot, sliced

For the crumble:

• 150 g (~1 1/4 cup) flour
• 25 g (~1/4 cup) cocoa powder
• 100 g (~1/2 cup) sugar
• seeds of a half vanilla bean
• 100 g (~1/2 cup) butter, softened

Size of the baking pan: 24×34 cm / 9×13 inch

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.

In a bowl mix flour, starch and baking powder.

Put butter and sugar in another bowl, and beat them together until light and creamy. Add vanilla seeds, egg, lemon zest and juice. Mix them until well combined. Finally add the mixture of dry components and milk. Spoon the stiff, creamy paste in a greased and floured baking pan. Spread apricot jam over the top, then place apricot slices to cover the batter.

Prepare the crumble by mixing together butter, flour, cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla seeds. Spread this cocoa crumble evenly over the apricot layer. Bake it for 50 minutes. Serve lukewarm.