Almond Cake

In the interest of complete honesty on this blog, I have to say...I got nuthin'.

I don't know if it's the post-turkey, end-of- the-kids-being-home-all-week, ready-for-bed brain but I've been sitting here for 2 hours telling myself, "Alright! Pick up that netbook and write about that awesome almond cake for your post for tomorrow!" I knew that sometimes I'd struggle trying to figure out what to say about some recipes if I didn't have some personal anecdote about it, but I certainly did not think it would happen on my THIRD post! I even just asked my Lucky guy if he had any special memories about it (I got the recipe from his mom when we were dating) and he said, "No, I just remember that my mom would make it and I liked it."

Ok. Thanks. ;)

So, I can give you the facts. This cake is like pound cake on crack – if you like almond, you'll love this cake. It is a recipe from a SOLO cookbook from 1988 and is one of the easiest cakes I make. Always a crowd pleaser. Enjoy!

~Leah

AlmondCake

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Leah (adapted from Solo)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1 c. butter, softened


• 1 c. sugar


• 3 eggs


• 1 can Solo almond filling


• 2 1/4 c flour


• 2 tsp. baking powder


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/4 c. milk


• Almond Glaze:


• 1 c confectioners/powdered sugar


• 2-3 Tbsp. whipping cream


• 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour (I always cheat and use the baking spray with flour in it) a 12-cup Bundt pan.


2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.


3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after adding each one.


4. Beat in almond filling until blended.


5. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, and salt untli mixed.


6. Add to the almond mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.


7. Beat until blended.


8. Spread batter evenly in the prepared bundt pan.


9. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick/skewer comes out clean.


10. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on the rack.


11. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract in a small bowl and stir until blended and smooth. Spoon or drizzle over the top of the cake. Let stand until the glaze is set.

Notes

Make sure you either grease and flour or spray your pan really well! If you are using a dark bundt pan, reduce your oven temp to 325. Darker pans are supposed to bake faster, so I had set my timer for 40 minutes to check, but ended up baking the cake 55 minutes.
When making the glaze, start with 2 Tbsp of the cream and check the consisitency for how you like it. I feel like every time I make it, I use different proportions and I have no idea why...maybe different brands?
Also, if you're going to drizzle, I like to use a decorator icing bag or a ziploc with a small hole snipped in the bottom corner. I can never seem to drizzle nicely when I use a spoon.

3.1.09