This Berry-Almond Cake is a quick to whip up dessert that is wonderful for a summer evening party or brunch or afternoon celebration. The cake is sweet but light and flavored with the summer berries of your choice. Don't have good, fresh berries at your supermarket or the berries are too expensive? No problem. This cake uses frozen berries. They're generally less costly, and the frozen ones work just fine. Save the fresh berries to scatter on the cut slices of cake, if you like. The cake, instead of a frosting or glaze, gets a thick, buttery, nutty crumb layer, like a coffee cake. The crumbly topping is quite good, and no one will miss the frosting. The cake is fine alone, with fresh berries, or with a dollop of whipped topping or scoop of ice cream alongside. The flavor seems to improve if you make the cake a day ahead of when you plan to serve it.
Berry-Almond Cake -- Makes 1 Large Tube/Bundt Cake
2/3 cup of canola oil
1 1/3 cup of sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1 1/2 cups of low-fat buttermilk
3 cups of all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of frozen mixed berries (I use a mixture of cherries, blueberries, and
strawberries)
Topping
1/4 cup of butter (1/2 stick), melted
1/3 cup of dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of almond flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
Mix all the topping ingredients together well until they're crumbly.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a tube or bundt pan with baking spray (the kind with flour) or coat the pan with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour, coating the inside of the pan and tapping out the excess flour. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and buttermilk until well combined. Mix together the 3 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and gradually whisk the dry mixture into the wet until everything is combined. Toss the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour with the frozen berries and fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle on the topping. Bake the cake for about an hour or until a pick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached (not wet batter) and the edges of the cake are just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Put a plate on top of the cake and invert it onto the plate. Put the plate you plan to use to serve the cake on the bottom of the cake and flip it, so that the cake is right side up on the serving plate. Let the cake cool completely for easier slicing.
