Sherry Soaked Almond Cake With Mixed Berries Recipes

MASCARPONE-FILLED CAKE WITH SHERRIED BERRIES

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer at low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.
• Spread batter in cake pan, smoothing top. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
• Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.
• Macerate berries:
• Bring Sherry and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Put berries in a bowl and pour hot syrup over them, gently tossing to coat. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Make cream and assemble cake:
• Beat mascarpone and cream with sugar in a large bowl using cleaned beaters until mixture just holds stiff peaks.
• Halve cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Carefully remove top half and reserve. Put bottom half on a plate, then spread evenly with all of cream and replace top half. Serve with berries.

MIXED BERRY ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
• Add almond paste, sugar and butter to a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat on high for three minutes.
• Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to almond mixture and beat until just combined. Pour 2 1/4 cups of batter into prepared pan, gently smoothing to edges.
• Evenly sprinkle berries across batter. Drop spoonfuls of remaining batter on top of berries and sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Gently slide a knife around the inside edge of pan and release springform circle. Lightly dust with powdered sugar. finish cooling on rack or serve slightly warm. This cake is equally delicious served cold.

SHERRY-SOAKED ALMOND CAKE WITH MIXED BERRIES

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter tube pan with 3 1/2-inch-high sides. Finely grind toasted almonds in processor. Blend in flour and baking powder. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in almond paste a few pieces at a time. Add vanilla extract and beat until mixture resembles paste. Add 3 whole eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 3 egg yolks. Stir in dry ingredients. Using electric mixer fitted with clean dry beaters, beat 3 egg whites in medium bowl to soft peaks. Gradually add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold white into batter in 2 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan (batter will fill pan less than halfway). Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 1 hour. Pierce top of cake all over with wooden skewer.
• For syrup:
• Combine cream Sherry, sugar and butter in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Mix in almond extract. Let syrup stand until just cool. Brush half of syrup over cake in pan. Let cake stand 1 hour. Turn cake out onto platter. Reheat remaining syrup just until butter melts. Pierce more holes in cake. Brush syrup over cake. Let cake stand 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover cake and let stand at room temperature.) Cut cake into wedges. Garnish with dollops of sweetened whipped cream and berries and serve.