That Almond Cake

Posted on May 1st, 2017

For Ian’s birthday, I promised I would make any dessert that he wanted, and he was pretty quick with his choice.  “Make that almond cake from last winter,” he said, his eyes lighting up, “That was my favorite cake you ever made.”

Oh, sweet Ian.  If only I had been as sure in the recipe as you were in your selection.

Since I usually put recipes together as I go, I couldn’t actually recall how I had made The Almond Cake from Last Winter.  I knew it had been a bundt cake, that it had been deliciously moist but with a caramelized outer shell, and that I had finished it with an amaretto glaze, but the ratios of the key cake ingredients and whether I had added anything else were kind of a mystery.  So I made an almond cake, and eight of us gathered around to sing and wish Ian the happiest birthday. We have poorly lit iPhone photos to show for it.

Most people went back for seconds, so I’m going to take that as a stamp of approval.  I’m also going to document the recipe in case I am asked to make That Almond Cake again, or in case you’re looking for a non-traditional birthday cake, too.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond extract
3 cups of flour (do not overmeasure!)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds

For the glaze:
6 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup Amaretto
1 cup sugar
1/8 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Thoroughly grease/butter a bundt tin, and line the bottom with almonds.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Measure in vanilla and almond extract, and beat in eggs, adding one at a time and mixing in between.  Add salt and baking soda.  Slowly add increments of flour, alternating with Greek yogurt, with care not to overmix.

Spread batter into prepared tin, and pop in the oven.  Cook time varies with oven, about 50-60 minutes.  Remove when inserted knife comes out slightly moist, but clean.  The cake will pull away from the sides a bit with time, so allow the cake to cool for at least an hour before inverting.

To prepare the glaze, combine ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, and stir for about three minutes.  Drizzle over the cake, allow to harden, and enjoy!  I recommend serving with macerated blueberries and a little vanilla ice cream.

Happy birthday, Ian!