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Cooking with Sonya

Toasted Almond and Cranberry Bundt Cake with Chocolate Drizzle

My sister gave me a beautiful bundt cake pan for Christmas (thank you Shannon!) and that is the inspiration behind this scrumptious recipe.  I love texture so I thought toasted sliced almonds would work really well both in the cake and on top to break up all the richness.  And I used a sweetened dried cranberry as well as honey and strawberry Greek yogurt (full fat) to add moisture and flavor to the cake.  By using these two ingredients I could cut back on the amount of sugar in the batter.  I think it’s perfect.  If you cannot find the honey and strawberry Greek yogurt, which is readily available most places, either use another sweetened vanilla yogurt or else a plain yogurt and then add a little more sugar in the batter.

What I love about this dish is you can serve it as dessert, as breakfast, or part of a brunch buffet.  So versatile.  Or maybe just cut it up in pieces and pack it as part of an al fresco lunch on your next hike or camping trip.  And don’t skimp on the chocolate drizzle…..pile it all on there.

Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread the sliced almonds onto a sheet pan and bake until lightly toasted, approximately 8 ½ minutes. Remove and let cool. 
  2. Increase oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bundt pan with oil and dust with a little flour.
  3. In a large bowl sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment mix the sugar and butter increasing speed to high.  Mix for 4-5 minutes until the butter is a pale yellow. Scrape down the sides as needed.
  5. Add in the eggs, one at a time and mix over low speed, scraping down the sides as needed.  Then add the vanilla and almond extract and continue to mix a few more seconds.  Now add a little of the flour mixture and a little of the yogurt, continuing to mix on low speed and adding the rest in small amounts until just combined.  Do not over mix.
  6. Add ½ the almonds to the mixture (reserving the rest for the later) and all of the cranberries; mix to incorporate.  Fill bundt pan with the cake mixture and bake for approximately 55 minutes or until the center of the cake is set when tested with a skewer.  Remove and let sit for 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack; then flip over and remove the cake and set back on the cooling rack.

Chocolate Drizzle

  1. In a double broiler (glass dish set over a pot of simmering water but not touching it) melt the chocolate with the vanilla, cream and salt. 
  2. Set the cake on the cooling sheet with parchment or foil underneath to catch the drippings, if desired.  Drizzle the chocolate over the top and immediately sprinkle with remaining almonds.
Cake

1 cup sliced almonds

2 ½ cups cake flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon Salt

1 cup (2 sticks unsalted butter), room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons Almond extract

1 cup strawberry honey Greek yogurt (or vanilla Greek yogurt)

1 ¼ cups sweetened dried cranberries

*10 cup bundt pan

Chocolate Drizzle

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup Heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt
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February 19, 2015

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