Friday, December 21, 2012

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

If you have some brunches with family and friends coming up on your horizon, this is a very easy little brunch cake that will serve 8.  This cake is light, very tender and presents a nice layer of tart raspberries for a bright splash of both flavor and color.  The almonds are a perfect garnish, adding just enough texture and nuttiness to the mix.

The raspberries are macerated in some sugar to sweeten them up and a bit of lemon juice to boost their flavor.  There's buttermilk and melted butter in the cake for extra tenderness.  Along with the jammy fruit, each bite sort of melts in your mouth.

What I like about this cake is it's not heavy or too sweet, so it doesn't ruin your appetite for a full day of festivities.  Add it to your Christmas morning table along with steaming hot coffee and tea and enjoy the start of your holiday.  Cheers!

Bench notes:
- Most commercial cartons of raspberries are equal to 6 oz.
- The raspberries should macerate for about 10 minutes or the time it takes to assemble and mix the remaining ingredients.
- There isn't a lot of batter but you will get two thin layers out of it.
- Be careful when removing the cake from the pan.  It's tender and a bit fragile while still warm.



Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake
Serves 8

6 oz fresh raspberries
2 T sugar
1 t lemon juice

1 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 egg @ room temperature
1/2 C + 2 T sugar
1/2 C buttermilk @ room temperature
3 oz (6 T) butter, melted
1 t vanilla
1/4 C sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease an 8" cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.

Combine raspberries, sugar and lemon juice and set aside to macerate.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, whisk the egg, sugar, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla.  Use a fork to stir in the flour mixture and mix until moistened and there are no streaks of flour.

Spoon a little over half of the batter into the prepared pan, making sure to cover the entire bottom surface.  Top with the raspberry mixture.  Dollop the remaining batter over the raspberries and spread out in an even layer.  There will be some raspberries exposed and that's fine.  Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a thin knife around the edges and gently turn out the cake.  Invert again onto a platter.  Cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

8 comments:

Foodiewife said...

I love simple cakes like this. I happen to have some frozen raspberries, and I always have almonds on hand. I'd be tempted to make this in a springform pan, so I don't risk breaking it. It looks so easy to make, and that's perfect for a busy morning when it's raining outside and I want a steaming cup of coffee. Like today! Thanks.

pastry studio said...

Great to hear from you, Debby! This is a super easy cake that stays moist and fresh. Hope you enjoy it. Have a great holiday!

Leena said...

hi dear, I just made this cake! I took it out of the oven and it looks done (feels and smells done too), but the top was not browned like yours in the picture. Actually when I checked it I thought it was not done because the top is still the same color as the batter was. I will cool and taste it and report back :)

pastry studio said...

Yikes, Leena, I hope it turns out for you. Did you place it in the middle shelf of your oven? Was it baked all the way through? It should definitely brown if you used the right amount of sugar.

Unknown said...

I made this for Christmas and everyone loved it! It was definitely a hit. I used a 6" springform because that's all I had and just let it bake a little bit longer (until my tester came out clean, I think it was about 10 extra minutes). I also made my own buttermilk with vinegar which worked out great. Thanks for another excellent recipe!

pastry studio said...

Awesome, Nathalie!! My family really loved this cake, too. It's so simple and delicious. Thanks for the info on the baking time for your different pan size.

Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I just made this and I LOVE it. Sometimes I get a raspberry almond coffee cake from whole foods, but I go there very rarely since it's far away. I have been searching high and low for a copycat, and let me tell you, this was better! I made some minor adjustments to suit what I had at home -- used whole wheat all purpose flour, raspberry pie filling and chopped almonds (didn't have slivered, dry roasted and processed whole almonds in food processor) and half & half instead of buttermilk (same quantity) because the pie filling already had lemon juice. Increased baking time from 30 min to nearly 50 min (it took that long for me for a fork to come out clean and the cake nice and brown) . I had the first bite and I know I have a keeper!

I would love to buy a hard copy of your book if that's going to be available... if not, will buy the ebook. Again, thank you very much for this recipe! Keep them coming!

Ms.V

pastry studio said...

Ms. V, thank you so much for your feedback. So glad the cake worked with your substitutions. I'm guessing it took longer to bake because perhaps your pie filling had more moisture. I agree it's a simple and delicious little cake!

Thanks so much for your interest in my cookbook. Unfortunately it's not available in hardback. The ebook can be read on an iPad or Kindle or downloaded to your Mac or PC. There is more info here:

http://theglobalpastrytable.blogspot.com

Lots of fun and delicious recipes with simple methods.

Cheers!