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For as long as I can remember, I've had a love affair with desserts that are flavored with almond. It might be my German roots, but I have a particular weakness fondness for marzipan. Whenever I see a recipe that pairs cherries and almond, I usually bookmark it for when that almond craving hits. I also learned to appreciate that cranberries and almond are another tasty combination, when I found a family favorite recipe for Cranberry-Almond Granola.
Shortly after Christmas, I had set aside the remaining half of a bar of almond paste that I used to make an Easy German Stollen-- I was waiting for an excuse to use it. I had good fortune, when one of my favorite blogs that I follow, "2 Stews", posted a recipe for a Cranberry…
View Full Recipe at A Feast for the Eyes Food…
.%20%20I%20also%20saw%20that%20this%20recipe%20uses%20Amaretto%20liqueur,%20which%20is%20a%20staple%20in%20my%20pantry.%20%20%20I%20started%20to%20feel%20my%20pulse%20race,%20when%20I%20saw%20that%20sour%20cream%20is%20used%20in%20the%20batter,%20because%20I%20love%20the%20subtle%20tang%20and%20moisture%20that%20it%20gives%20to%20cake%20recipes.%20I%20could%20almost%20taste%20a%20winning%20combination%20of%20ingredients,%20and%20I%20made%20the%20decision%20to%20shut%20down%20my%20laptop%20and%20bake%20this--%20pronto!%20%20I%20had%20everything%20I%20needed:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20first%20step%20I%20took%20was%20to%20measure%201/2%20cup%20of%20dried%20cranberries%20and%202%20Tablespoons%20Amaretto.%20I%20heated%20the%20Amaretto%20and%20dried%20cranberries%20in%20a%20small%20saucepan.%20I%20let%20it%20cool,%20stirring%20occasionally,%20until%20the%20fruit%20has%20soaked%20up%20all%20of%20the%20liquid.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENOTE:%20The%20original%20recipe%20says%20to%20do%20this%202%20hours%20in%20advance,%20I%20found%20that%20the%20cranberries%20cooled%20quite%20well,%20in%20the%2020%20minutes%20it%20took%20to%20prepare%20the%20cake%20batter:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EPreheat%20the%20oven%20to%20325F%20and%20prepare%20your%20pan%20with%20Baker's%20Joy%20Non-Stick%20Spray.%20Of%20course%20you%20can%20use%20good%20old%20flour%20and%20shortening,%20but%20I've%20never%20had%20a%20bundt%20cake%20disaster,%20ever%20since%20I%20stocked%20up%20on%20this%20fantastic%20baking%20product.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENext:%20Using%20my%20food%20processor%20(or%20you%20can%20use%20a%20mixer%20and%20paddle),%20I%20combined%20the%20%20almond%20paste,%20almond%20extract%20and%20sugar%20until%20the%20mixture%20looked%20like%20wet%20sand.%20%20I%20like%20to%20use%20LorAnn%20Almond%20Bakery%20Emulsion,%20because%20the%20flavors%20aren't%20lost%20in%20the%20baking.%20%20(I%20also%20use%20LorAnn%20Buttery%20Sweet%20Dough%20Flavor%20in%20most%20of%20my%20cakes...%20I%20love%20them!)%20Of%20course,%20you%20can%20use%20pure%20almond%20oil--%20and%20if%20you%20don't%20like%20almond,%20then%20use%20vanilla.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EFor%20the%20batter:%20Add%20softened%20unsalted%20butter%20and%20%20mix%20at%20medium%20speed%20until%20very%20fluffy,%20about%203%20minutes.%20Scrape%20the%20bowl%20with%20rubber%20spatula.%20Add%20the%20eggs,%20one%20by%20one,%20beating%20until%20blended.%20On%20low%20speed%20add%20%E2%85%93%20dry%20ingredients%20and%20%E2%85%93%20sour%20cream;%20scrape%20bowl%20with%20a%20spatula.%20Repeat%20twice%20more.%20Finally%20beat%20for%2020%20seconds,%20until%20smooth.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EFold%20in%20all%20berries.%20Fold%20the%20batter%20into%20prepared%20pan.%20Level%20the%20top%20with%20spatula%20and%20tap%20pan%20gently%20to%20evenly%20distribute%20batter%20into%20the%20pan.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20found%20that%20I%20had%20extra%20batter,%20so%20I%20made%20two%20small%20tea%20loaves,%20to%20give%20to%20friends.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThere%20is%20a%20glaze%20recipe,%20but%20I%20decided%20to%20simply%20use%20powdered%20sugar.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20toted%20this%20cake%20off%20to%20the%20cooking%20class%20that%20I%20taught--%20sort%20of%20an%20%22Amuse%20Bouche%22%20intro%20to%20my%20students...%20well,%20I%20also%20didn't%20want%20to%20be%20tempted%20to%20eat%20more%20than%20a%20slice,%20as%20I've%20lost%2020%20pounds%20and%20plan%20to%20keep%20it%20that%20way!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETASTING%20NOTES:%20%20%20This%20is%20an%20easy%20recipe,%20though%20there%20are%20a%20couple%20of%20steps%20in%20hydrating%20the%20dried%20cranberries%20with%20the%20Amaretto%20and%20making%20the%20almond%20paste-sugar.%20%20The%20batter%20comes%20together%20very%20quickly.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20cake%20is%20very%20moist,%20and%20just%20a%20little%20dense--%20but%20not%20over-the-top.%20%20The%20flavor%20of%20the%20almonds,%20I%20think,%20could%20be%20increased%20by%20adding%20more%20almond%20extract.%20But%20remember,%20I'm%20a%20lover%20of%20anything%20almond.%20%20I%20think%20dried%20cherries%20could%20be%20used,%20or%20really%20any%20kind%20of%20fruit.%20%20Would%20I%20make%20this%20again?%20You%20bet!%20My%20family%20and%20friends%20approved%20of%20this%20recipe.%20I%20think%20you%20will,%20too.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}