Ingredients
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
17 oz canned apricot halves - drained
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup hershey's cocoa or european style c, ocoa
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 topping*
Directions
* CINNAMON SPECKLED WHIPPED TOPPING (recipe follows)
Heat oven to 375øF. In 9-inch round or 9-inch square baking pan, melt
1/4 cup butter in oven. Remove from oven. Add brown sugar; mix well.
Spread evenly over bottom of pan. Arrange apricots in pan with
rounded side down. Sprinkle pecans around apricots. Stir together
flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In large bowl, beat granulated
sugar and butter. Add eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture alternately
with milk and vanilla; beat until blended. Spread batter evenly over
apricots. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in
center comes out clean. Immediately invert cake onto serving plate.
Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with CINNAMON SPECKLED
WHIPPED TOPPING. 8 servings.
CINNAMON SPECKLED WHIPPED TOPPING:
In small bowl, combine 1 cup (1/2 pt.) cold whipping cream, 3
tablespoons powdered sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon; beat
until stiff. About 2 cups topping.
[Copyright 1995 Hershey Foods Corporation.] [Recipe may be reprinted
courtesy of the Hershey Kitchens.]
[Meal-Master recipe format courtesy of Karen Mintzias]
Servings: 8 servings
Chocolate Apricot Upside-Down Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Chocolate; Chocolate Cake; Dessert; Fruit
The History of Recipes
We are able to trace the history of `recipes` way back into ancient history, in fact as far as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, mostly, these old records were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history is a series of stone tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel wonderful and blissful. Much later, in Roman times a man called Apicius created a number of documents which described recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius describes how the roman meals were split into hors d`oeuvres, main course and afters, a very modern way of dining. This early Roman chef tells us how the Romans made use of many different spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example bay, fennel and asafoetida. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we have a couple of interesting cookery books from the 1300s - a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these books are not about the curry that we all know today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the rich and powerful. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods, spices and herbs from the holy lands, including spices such as coriander, parsley, and rosemary. These new herbs and spices created a torrent in manuscripts on cooking, the majority of which are now in private collections. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the rich families of Wesstern Europe tried to serve the best banquets, and consequentially chefs and their recipes could command a high salary. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that cooking and cookery books rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to assembling, testing, and recording recipes of the day. When we get to the twentieth century, cooking publications are increasing in popularity due to better eduction, more spare time and a general increase in wealth. The TV revolution brings us celebrity chefs and the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everybody to search through massive numbers of recipes like those on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Apricot Upside Down Cake recipe.
