The marriage of ingredients in this cake came about by accident and inspiration. Rummaging through the pantry, I found a small wedge of almond paste left over from holiday baking. I took it out, crumbled it into small pieces and added it to the simple Bundt cake I was making to contribute to a post-funeral lunch gathering and spread.
Spring brings a boatload of special events worthy of baking cakes: birthdays, wedding showers, baby showers, graduations, teas. This cake works well for all occasions and serves a crowd (plan on about 16 slices). It's rich, dense and moist, and made with ingredients you probably already have on hand, except for maybe the almond paste.
Serve it plain, sprinkled with confectioners sugar or dressed up with your favorite icing or glaze.
To avoid blemishes on removal, grease and flour your Bundt pan really well. Use more of each than you think you need!
Almond-y Chocolate Chip Cake Adapted from "Bundt Classics'' 1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1.5 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 1/3 cups milk
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounces almond paste, crumbled in small pieces
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.
Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine sugar, butter and almond paste until well blended. Add eggs and almond and vanilla extracts and combine until light and fluffy. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into pan, smoothing top with spatula. Gently tap pan on countertop once or twice to help batter settle.
Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until center of cake tests "clean" with a toothpick or cake tester. Cool 15 minutes, then remove cake from pan and cool completely. Before serving, lightly sift some confectioners' sugar on top of cake, if desired. Makes 16 servings.
Notes: For less almond-y flavor, use 1 teaspoon almond extract and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. The cake freezes well, double-wrapped.
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