Heat oven to 375°. Mix sugar, egg and shortening thoroughly. Stir in milk. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt. Melt butter. Sprinkle as much cinnamon over brown sugar as you wish.
Halve and pit apricots. Place rounded side up in rows of four. You may need fewer or more apricots, depending on their size. Spread cake mixture over apricots.
Bake 25-35 minutes. When done place a plate over pan and flip cake out of pan. Place a walnut half in each apricot cup. Serve warm.
In a medium saucepan, prepare syrup. Bring the sugar, water, lemon juice and zest to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Poach apricots or peaches until tender. (Tip: if you use peaches, remove the skin.) Let them cool in the syrup.
To prepare raspberry sauce, in a blender, combine the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Process to a puree.
Remove fruits from syrup.
To serve: In a small bowl, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream, place the fruit on top, and cover with raspberry sauce. Garnish with whipped cream and toasted almonds.