Hamdi Saidani This tangy, moist lemon coconut apricot cake is made with a lemon cake mix, flaked coconut, apricot nectar, and a sweet apricot-lemon glaze poured over while the cake is still warm. It takes about 15 minutes to prep and 30 to 40 minutes to bake in a bundt or tube pan.
Apricot nectar is the ingredient that ties everything together. It goes into the batter for moisture and a subtle stone fruit sweetness, then shows up again in the glaze for a second hit of apricot flavor on the outside. Combined with the lemon cake mix and lemon extract, you get a bright, citrusy base with a warm, fruity undertone that coconut alone can’t create.
Pour the glaze over the cake while it’s still warm. The heat opens up the surface of the crumb and lets the glaze soak in instead of sitting on top like a shell. Mix the confectioners’ sugar, apricot nectar, oil, and enough lemon juice to make it pourable, then use it immediately. If the glaze sits too long, it thickens and won’t absorb properly. Turn the cake out of the pan after 10 minutes of cooling, set it on a serving dish, and glaze right away.
Lemon Coconut Apricot Cake Recipe
Description
This lemon coconut apricot cake bakes a coconut-studded lemon batter with apricot nectar in a bundt pan, then soaks the warm cake in a tangy apricot-lemon glaze.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9 or 10-inch tube or bundt pan.
- Combine the lemon cake mix, eggs, brown sugar, flaked coconut, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup apricot nectar, and lemon extract in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 4 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn it out onto a serving dish.
- For the glaze, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons apricot nectar, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and enough lemon juice to reach a pourable consistency. Mix until smooth.
- Immediately pour the glaze over the warm cake, letting it soak in and drip down the sides.
FAQs
What do I serve it with?
A cup of tea or coffee alongside, warm from the glaze. For a dessert table, the Apricot Coffee Cake next to it gives guests a lighter, simpler breakfast-style option against this richer, glazed bundt cake. The Fig Almond Cake alongside offers a similar single-pan format in a completely different flavor direction with warm spices and browned butter.
What is apricot nectar and where do I find it?
It’s a thick, sweetened apricot juice sold in cans or bottles in the juice aisle of most grocery stores. It’s thicker than regular fruit juice and adds both moisture and concentrated apricot flavor to the batter. Don’t substitute regular orange juice or apple juice, the flavor and consistency are too different.
Can I use fresh apricots instead of nectar?
Not as a direct swap. The nectar provides a specific amount of liquid and sweetness that fresh fruit can’t replicate in the batter. You could blend fresh apricots into a puree and strain it, but the consistency would be thicker and you’d need to adjust the liquid ratio.
Why does the glaze go on while the cake is warm?
Warm cake has an open, porous crumb that absorbs the glaze into the surface. If you wait until the cake cools completely, the crumb tightens and the glaze sits on the outside as a hard shell instead of soaking in and flavoring the top layer of the cake.
How do I store this cake?
Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a cake dome at room temperature for up to 3 days. The glaze keeps the surface moist, but the coconut in the crumb can dry out after that. Refrigerating extends it to 5 days, but let it come to room temperature before serving so the texture softens back up.
