Thursday, April 03, 2008

Cherry Almond Coffee Cake

The week of spring break is coming to an end soon, and I'm going to miss having my kids with me 24/7. So far, we had braved the crazy crowd at the zoo, the ski slopes and the play park when the weather was good. And on snowing/rainy days, they played with the slides, jumped on the bouncers (both were in the basement), did straw painting and finger painting (thank goodness for washable paint, but what a fun mess we had!) and made cupcakes. We also did puzzles and played with our fluff on fb alot! It is getting to be so much fun as they grow older and we can do more crafts and stuff together. :)

So today Hubs wanted a coffee cake for dessert, and I thought of this recipe. Had made it once in the pass, and remembered that he like it as it was not too sweet, and I increased the amount of almond extract this time around. The kids helped me measure the flour into the bowl and onto me, but they did a great job ploping the little cherries into the batter before it went into the oven.

Tried this recipe from Bon Appetit and I used self-raising flour and increased the almond extract.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light sour cream

1 21-ounce can cherry pie fillingHeat oven to 350F.

Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light. Add eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Mix half of dry ingredients into butter mixture. Mix in sour cream, then remaining dry ingredients.
Pour 2/3 of batter (about 2 cups) into prepared pan. Drop pie filling by tablespoons evenly over batter. Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over pie filling. Using back of spoon, carefully spread batter over filling. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and store at room temperature.) Cut around sides of pan. Remove pan.

Note: It's becoming a favorite of Hubs, and it's not bad, but I'm not happy with the cherries, and am still searching for a better almond coffee cake recipe.

16 comments:

daphne said...

oh my! I love the look of that cherries in the middle!

Retno Prihadana said...

Yummy...your cake look gorgeous! Is it possible to use chopped almond instead of almond extract?

Cynthia said...

I want a piece of that cake right this minute :)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Thanks Daphne!

Hi Retno Phihadana,
You can sure use some slivered almonds for added texture in the cake, and I think the almond extract will bring out more almond taste in the cake.

Hi Cynthia,
Come on over girlfriend! :)

wonda said...

Oooh.... licking my lips but at the same time, thinking of my cholestrol level.

Little Corner of Mine said...

The most important is your hubby loves it, then he can finish the cake for you! :D

Wandering Chopsticks said...

I still have yet to try the cherry almond combo. How about adding almond flakes or ground almonds to the recipe?

Big Boys Oven said...

the cherries looks so attractive!

bokjae said...

Hey, noticed that you usually give the recipe but no preparation method! I'll have a tough time learning how to make your lovely cakes and dishes! Cheers!

SIG said...

Yum yum, Love those cherries in the middle.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Thanks Alice, LCOM, Wandering Chopsticks, Big Boys Oven, and Singairishgirl!

Bojkae, if you look under the second picture, you'll see the prep for this cake. :)

Cris said...

Oh, what pretty picture! I would love a piece of this cake, it is gorgeous!

J@n!ce said...

I might be getting hubs to buy an oven for me. Looks really fun baking cake. I wana to try it too. When I eventually venture on it. Will be visiting you often for tipssss... haha... :)

TBC said...

That sounds really good.:-)

Lia said...

scrumptious! i love the cherry in side the cake looking good

Anonymous said...

Loverly, loverly yum yum...I simply cant get enough of food.

Great blog.