Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a popular recipe that has managed to eluded me, at least until now. The recipe has been featured on a lot of blogs, so it was difficult to track it back to its original source. I do, however, feel pretty sure that it first appeared in Taste of Home magazine. If I am wrong let me know, so I can correct the attribution. While this coffee cake has many things going for it, the ease with which it comes together has to be at the top of the list. It requires no special equipment to make and it takes about 15 minutes to prepare. You can swap out the berries if you wish, and as long as you are sure the cake is done when you take it from the oven, you'll have a breakfast cake that is a wonderful way to start the day. I have slightly altered the original recipe because I thought almond extract made more sense than vanilla in a cake that's made with raspberries and sliced almonds. My only caution should you decide to make this, is that it is best when served warm from the oven. If allowed to sit, the raspberries will soak into the bottom layer of the cake and make it gummy. This is a great, nearly effortless, coffee cake and I know you will enjoy it. Here is how it is made.

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Taste of Home Magazine

Ingredients:
Cake
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Icing
1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8-inch round pan. Set aside.
2) Combine raspberries and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
3) Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
4) In a small bowl, whisk egg, sour cream, butter and vanilla together in a small bowl
5) Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened. Batter will be dense. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan, making sure to completely cover bottom of pan. Top with raspberry mixture. Spoon remaining batter over raspberries. Sprinkle with almonds.
6) Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan. During cooling time, carefully run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen them.
7) To make icing: Whisk confectioners' sugar, milk and extract in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over coffee cake and serve. Yield: 8 servings.

                    

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Raspberry-Ricotta Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It is hard to believe that a cake this simple to make can be so delightful to eat. It is not too sweet, so I fear it will disappoint those who have an insistent sweet tooth, but the rest of you will be in dessert paradise. As you can tell, I really liked this cake and stop just short of saying it made my socks go up and down, The reason for my hesitation is that I find seeds in this type of dessert off-putting. The berries that are available now have seeds in them and they are not consistent in their sweetness or their size. I used the full component of berries suggested in the recipe, but I certainly did not end up with the garnet strewn gem shown in the magazine which you can see here. It is important that the berries you use be frozen. The batter for this cake is almost clay-like and soft berries would be mangled when you fold them into the cake. I am going to make the cake again next week with frozen strawberries and when marionberries and sweet cherries come into season I'll give it yet another try. I really, really like this cake. It is moist and has a soft, lovely crumb that I find most appealing. While it will keep nicely for two days, I prefer the texture of the cake the first day it is made. I do hope you'll give it a try. It makes a unique tea table addition and it would be perfect for Mother's Day, which will be here soon. Here is how the cake is made.