Cherry-almond crumb cake

8
Points®
Total Time
1 hr
Prep
25 min
Cook
35 min
Serves
16
Difficulty
Moderate
What’s not to love about this cake—it’s moist, full of nutty flavor and has a crunchy topping! Don’t be tempted to substitute marzipan in the place of almond paste because they’re two completely different ingredients. Almond paste is a mixture of blanched ground almonds and sugar and is often used to add rich almond flavor and moisture to baked goods. Marzipan on the other hand contains ground almonds, egg whites, and a larger amount of sugar and is often tinted with food coloring and shaped into fruits and other decorative shapes during the holidays. Leftover almond paste can be stored, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in the freezer up to 3 months.

Ingredients

Cake flour

2 Tbsp

Packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp

Almonds

2 Tbsp, sliced

Canola oil

1 Tbsp

Ground cinnamon

½ tsp

Cake flour

2 cup(s)

Baking powder

2 tsp

Table salt

½ tsp

Firmly packed almond paste

½ cup(s), (from 7-ounce package)

Sugar

½ cup(s)

1% low fat milk

¾ cup(s)

Canola oil

¼ cup(s)

Egg

1 large egg(s)

Egg whites

1 large

Almond extract

½ tsp

Dried cherries

¾ cup(s)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch round baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with a wax-paper round; spray with nonstick spray.
  2. To make the crumb topping, stir together the topping ingredients in a small bowl until moistened; set aside.
  3. To make the cake, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the almond paste and granulated sugar in a large bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low. Add the milk, oil, egg, egg white, and almond extract and beat until smooth. Beat in the flour mixture and cherries just until blended.
  4. Pour the batter into the pan; sprinkle evenly with the crumb topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the topping is golden, about 35 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack; remove the wax paper. Let cool completely. Yields 1⁄16 of cake per serving.