Almond-Raspberry Cake - by Lisa

Uh, wow where did this month disappear to? Nothing like waiting until the end of the month to START baking the first of four recipes! I opted to start with this one since I bought the raspberries for it knowing we were quickly heading out of season.

I didn't think I'd like this one so much since I didn't think I was a big fan of almonds. But I decided to snack on a couple of leftover almond slices and found that I really liked them! Who knew? :) The only things I really needed for this recipe were the almond paste and raspberries. I lucked out and found the 7oz tube of almond paste (something I've never bought nor heard of before!) at my regular grocery store.

Everything came together pretty easily, although the butter/almond paste/sugar mixture didn't get quite as fluffy as I expected. I don't think it negatively affected anything tho. I also opted to go with the almond extract over the vanilla extract, altho I briefly considered doing half of each.

Since moving into our new place, I've been a little hesitant with the new oven. On one hand I am absolutely in LOVE with it. It is an AGA Legacy - a dream stove/oven! But on the other hand, it is a bit temperamental and I've had some challenges in learning how to bake with it. I've burned a few things already, so I was super extra cautious in watching this cake. I used the convection setting, set the temp about 20 degrees lower, set the timer for 10 min less than the minimum suggested bake time, and watched the cake like a hawk! I'm glad I set the bake time for what I did, because it was ready to come out at 25 min!

 

After letting it cool for about 20 min, my husband and I dug in. It definitely had a nice spongy texture and very pleasant taste. The raspberries give it a nice pop of flavor as well. I am quite happy with how it turned out and tasted and would certainly consider serving this at a brunch type event. (PS - Sorry about some of these photos. I'm also learning how to work with a new lens on my camera!)