Four for Dinner

I made an “Italian Almond Cake” for a dinner this week that was a total flop. I grabbed it off the web because it looked like it was quick and easy and a friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time was coming over for dinner at the spur of the moment. The cake was pretty, and flavorful, but very dense….and, I will admit, a little undercooked in the center. Yuck.

Of course, this inspired me to try my own spin on the cake. Yesterday, also pressed for time, I experimented and today, I tried again. The batter lies somewhere between a madeleine, a genoise and a sponge cake. I looked it all up after I finished. Whatever it is, it is tasty. Nice with a cup of coffee or tea. And, it is very, very quick and easy to make.

Quick Almond Raspberry Baby Cakes

makes 24 baby cakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3 extra large eggs, room temperature (to do this quickly, put eggs in hot tap water for a few minutes)
1 cup granulated sugar, plus about 2 tsp. for sprinkling
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Sliced almonds
fresh or frozen raspberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 cupcake (24) tins with baking spray (I use one that has flour in it).

2) In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and the sugar on high speed until light and frothy – about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the extracts.

3) Sift together the flour and baking powder. Sprinkle over the egg/sugar mixture and fold in until there are no lumps. Pour in the melted butter and fold that in until there are no streaks of butter.

4) Distribute the batter in the tins – about 1 heaping tablespoonful per cake. Put a raspberry in the center of each cake. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Sprinkle with a little bit of granulated sugar.

5) Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees, until pale golden on the edges and the top. Remove pans from the oven and cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them and placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely. They also taste pretty good a little warm!