Sunday, July 20, 2014

glazed almond butter cake

Because of your support, this blog has been selected to be one of the finalists For the Best Cooking Blog in this year's Singapore Blog Awards!

Thank you so much for your support for the last year, and I have to be thick-skinned and ask you to cast me a vote by clicking on the badge below. 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :)

It is the 20th of the month again and time for the Cake Slice Bakers to unveil our cake of the month!

Well, we were given 4 cake recipes to choose from, and I have chosen to bake this cake, which, apparently is often served as an alternative to Danish Pastry in Denmark.

I mean, duh, if it can replace Danish pastry (SLURP!) then well, it must be darn delish!!!
It certainly is pretty enough. :)

I am not a fan of almond (or most nuts, for that matter) but the almonds in this cake were caramelized. How wrong can that possibly go, right?

It is a really wonderful cake to take to a tea or dinner party, or for a bake sale. And it is not at all hard to make.
Let me show you how.

First, I started by whisking the eggs with the WHISK attachment of my mixer for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture had turned light and thick.
Into this, I added the sugar, a tablespoonful at a time so that the sugar had a chance to blend in well. This would take another 5 minutes or so.
I added the vanilla extract. Then I measured 1/4 cup (25g) of the flour mixture and set it aside.
And added half of the remaining flour into the egg mixture.
This was mixed, and I added the heavy cream and the remaining half of the flour.
The sides of the bowl were scraped.
I added the melted butter, then the remaining 1/4 cup (25g) of flour.
 Once the batter was homogeneous, i transferred it into a lined and greased Springform pan.
The cake was baked for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, I measured out the ingredients for the topping.

Note: Do not assemble the topping until the final 5 minutes of baking the cake or it will become too hard to be used!! 

To make the topping, I started by melting the butter.
I added the brown sugar, and stirred.
Then I added the almonds, and stirred.
This was followed by the heavy cream, and yes, I stirred some more.
Finally, in went the plain flour, and I stirred until all the ingredients were well-combined.
If you measure all the ingredients ahead of time, there is no reason why you cannot make the toppings in 5 minutes. (I had 3 minutes to spare after my topping was made, so I kept stirring it over low heat.)
I poured the topping over the cake.
And used a spoon to spread the almond around. You need to work rather quickly but gently.
This was placed back into the oven and baked a further 8-10 minutes.

Once baked, the cake was allowed to cool in the pan.
Before I very carefully removed it and placed it on a serving plate.

People who like almonds would love this cake. It is not overly sweet (my cakes never are) and the crunchy top serves as a nice contrast to the tender cake below.
I can see why this is served for tea.
I'm going to make a pot of tea. It's prefect with this delicious almond butter cake.

Join me? :)

RECIPE
Glazed Almond Butter Cake (Serves 8-10)
Adapted from Great Cakes by Carole Walter

Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 1/4 cups (125g) cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (168.7g) sugar - I reduced this by 50%
1/2 cup (113.5g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream

For the almond butter glaze:
3 tablespoons (42.5g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar
2/3 cup (66g) sliced almonds
1 tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream
1 tablespoon (7.81g) plain flour

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176.6°C). Grease and line a 9-inch Spingform pan.
2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Whisk eggs with the whisk attachment until light and thick, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, a little at a time, and allow the sugar to blend in well. This would take about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce mixer to medium-low. Add the vanilla. Measure out 1/4 cup (25g) of flour and set aside.
5. Add half of the remaining flour into the egg mixture. Mix. Add heavy cream and remaining flour. Mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
6. Slowly pour butter into the batter. Add the reserved 1/4 cup (25g) flour. Mix for about 15 seconds longer.
7. Transfer into the Springform pan and bake for 25 minutes.
8. Measure the ingredients for the topping. Set aside until final 5 minutes of baking the cake.
9. During the final 5 minutes of baking time, make the topping by melting the butter in a skillet.
10. Add brown sugar, almonds, heavy cream and flour, stirring well after each addition.
11. Pour the topping onto the cake and use a spoon to spread the almonds quickly but gently over the cake.
12. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, and the glaze is bubbling.
13. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before removing it to serve.
Note: Cake can be kept in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

I am also sharing this post with Cook Your Books hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.


Always a pleasure to be baking with


17 comments:

  1. Diana,I love almonds and I'm going to eat just the topping. No lah, just kidding! But that last 5 minutes part is quite tricky.

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    1. Actually if you just make the topping it becomes almond bark> I thought the final 5 minutes was going to be rather exciting too, but I made the topping in 2 minutes and spent 3 minutes waiting for the cake to finish baking. So anti-climatic man.

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  2. Two of Almond Crunchy goodness on the first day of reveal!! Great pictures!

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    1. Thanks Emily!!! I am now going to go see what you baked!

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  3. Diana, that looks utterly scrumptious! I'd love a slice or two right now. Great job!

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  4. Mmmm! No one can ever go wrong with caramilized almonds! Congratulations on your nomination!

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    Replies
    1. I agree, Anabel! Caramelised anything is yummy, haha. Thank you :)

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  5. It truly is an amazing cake, Diana! Good going on the nomination =)

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    1. Thanks Kim!! I saw your cake - am hopping over to leave a comment!

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  6. Hi Diana,
    I love almond cakes, and have made a similar one to this a few months ago.
    A cup of tea is definitely a great idea. This cake looks super yum!

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  7. I enjoyed this cake as well and made myself satisfied with just a couple of bites. Way too much temptation to have in the house. Thank goodness for neighbors with a sweet tooth! Your's came out very pretty and good luck with the voting!

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  8. Let me just say you are no longer "The Domestic Goddess Wannabe!" you are "The Domestic Goddess"!!!!!!!!!!!! What a great cake too. P.S. I voted for you too so I sure hope you win!!

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  9. Your cake looks lovely!! Yes caramelized almonds are pretty tasty.
    Congrats on becoming a finalist!!
    :)
    Holly

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