almonds Archives - The Midnight Baker

Almond Coffee Cake

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 00:02:18 +0000

How about a nice piece of this almond coffee cake with your afternoon coffee?

Almond Coffee Cake Has Rich Flavor

This is a coffee cake that’s a bit unusual as coffee cakes go. Traditional ones are based on streusel with a cinnamon flavor and I do love me some of the traditional since I’m pretty traditional myself.

However, sometimes it becomes necessary to start thinking outside the box and change up things a bit. I started out to make a more classic one, but discovered my walnuts had gone over since I forgot to put the bag in the freezer.

I did have sliced almonds in the freezer so a quick change was in order. And this has amazing flavor if you’re into almonds.

Sour Cream Is Necessary

Sour cream gives this cake its lovely texture. I had loads of the stuff in the fridge because I took advantage of a recent sale–where I always overbuy.

It also imparts a slight tanginess to the cake itself. I can’t praise sour cream enough for its ability to do this.

Now, I haven’t tried these types of cakes with light sour cream. You probably can use it but the crumb won’t be as tender. And as a rule, you never substitute fat-free products in anything baked because the results are pretty dismal.

If you have plain Greek yogurt on hand, that should work equally as well.

Almond Flavor

The deep almond flavor comes from two sources.

The first, of course, is the almonds themselves. You need to use toasted almonds and they’re pretty simple to make. I do mine in the oven, but stovetop works pretty well too. Just have to keep stirring and keep a watchful eye on them.

The second is the almond extract. I only use pure almond extract and a high-quality one. The real deal is always better, however it costs more. If you’re very budget conscious, then the imitation is OK. In fact, that is the only imitation flavoring that’s pretty close to the real thing.

The Recipe

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Almond Coffee Cake

Great coffee cake loaded with almonds

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond coffee cake, breakfast cakes, sour cream coffee cakes

Servings: 9

Calories: 478kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla

Filling/Topping:

1 cup sliced almonds toasted
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbs butter melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Spray a 9-inch/23 cm pan with non-stick spray.
Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.
Cream sugar, butter and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, almond and vanilla extracts.
Mix the almonds, sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.
Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the filling mixture over the batter. Lastly, spread the remaining half of the batter on top. Sprinkle remaining filling mixture over the top of the cake.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

Nutrition

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Almond Rugelach

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 00:00:12 +0000

If you love rugelach but found them intimidating to make, you’ll love this recipe.

Everyone Loves Rugelach

We all love rugelach, but most of us are reluctant to make it. Some recipes are involved and so complicated that it’s just easier to buy them.

This rugelach recipe has no complicated ingredients. They’re easy to shape too. Even the almond filling is easy to make and uses common ingredients you can buy in any store.

And another great thing about these rugelach is they are considerably cheaper (and better) than anything you can buy.

They’re so easy, you’ll make them often.

Rich Almond Filling

I love all things almond, so naturally, I love rugelach with an almond filling.

You can buy it in a can, but it’s hard to get. The more readily available “almond filling” really isn’t useable for these rugelach because it’s way too liquidy. What you need is called “schmear.” That is what it’s called too but it’s not easy to get. Plus, it’s pretty expensive. Therefore, I make my own almond schmear copycat. That recipe will be enough for two batches of cookies. Don’t worry, that recipe is easy too!

If you’re not fond of almonds or are allergic, other fillings may be used too. A common filling is apricot. For that you can use the pastry filling you find in the baking aisle. But make sure it’s pastry filling and not pie filling. Pie filling won’t work because it’s not the proper consistency.

I wouldn’t advise using jams or jellies either. They’re likely to burn and would be way too sweet.

A simple cinnamon sugar is very nice for filling too. You do it just like you do for cinnamon rolls–brush the dough with melted butter then roll it up and cut it.

Shaping

Most of the time you see rugelach in crescent shapes. I split the dough up into 3-4 equal portions so I can chill/save what I’m not using.

I eliminate that complicated rolling and shaping simply by rolling out the dough in a rough rectangle then spreading the filling over the top. Then I just roll it up, jelly roll style–and it doesn’t matter if you roll from the short or long end–and cut it in 1-2-inch (2.5-5 cm) slices. Be careful to set the rugelach on the baking sheet with the plain dough side down. Don’t place them with the rolled side down!!!

The Recipe

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Almond Rugelach

Rich and delicious cookie for the holidays or any time

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Chill time1

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond cookie recipe, chanukah cookies, Christmas cookies, rugelach recipe

Servings: 20

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese cut into chunks
8 oz unsalted butter butter cut into chunks
1 recipe copycat almond schmear
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds optional
sanding sugar optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment
Place the flour, salt, cream cheese and butter in bowl of food processor with metal blade. Process until a smooth dough forms, about 10 to 20 seconds.
Divide dough into 3 or 4 equal pieces and wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour before using.
on a lightly floured surface, roll a portion of dough to about 1/8-inch (0.32 cm) in a rough rectangle. Spread with about 3 tbs of the almond schmear. Sprinkle with about 2 tbs toasted almonds, if desired.
Roll up jelly roll style and cut into 1-2-inch (2.5-5 cm) slices. Place on prepared sheet plain dough side up—not the filling side. Sprinkle with additional toasted almonds and sanding sugar, if using.
Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks. I got about 10 rugelach per dough portion.

Nutrition

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Toasted Almond Coconut Cream Poke Cake

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 23:00:06 +0000

A poke cake with tons of coconut and almond flavor!

Two Great Flavors

Toasted almonds and toasted coconut are two of my favorite flavors.

Any time I’ve had guests, these flavors were the most popular, and I’ve made a lot of desserts because in years past, I’ve had lots of “company.” When I ran my dog rescue, I’d often have 15-20 people staying for dinner the day we had adoption day. I love cooking for a crowd so I’d look forward to these weekends.

Not only did we place great dogs with great families, but breaking bread with people I loved who worked with us was an added bonus. Everyone looked forward to the dessert, and anything with coconut or almonds was always enjoyed.

Add More Flavor

I generally doctor any cake mix I use. This recipe is no exception, but the only doctoring I did here was add almond extract.

Another one of my cake mix hacks is replacing any water that is called for with evaporated milk and water. I didn’t use this trick in this cake, but I used it in my Tropic Isle Coconut Cake. I’m sure this substitution would work in this cake. It will give the cake more body.

Proof Of The Pudding

Coconut cream instant pudding mix is used in this poke cake. I can find this easily in all my stores, but understand some people cannot find it in theirs. No worries! You can substitute vanilla instant pudding and add either flaked coconut or coconut extract to it. Another great substitution would be chocolate pudding mix–with nothing added to it. YUM!

The Recipe

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Toasted Almond Coconut Cream Poke Cake

A poke cake with tons of coconut and almond flavor!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: cakes, desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almonds, coconut cream, poke cake

Servings: 12

Calories: 269kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 box 2-layer size white cake mix (plus all ingredients listed on the box to make the cake) PLUS 1 tsp almond extract
1 pkg coconut cream instant pudding mix use directions for pie filling
8 oz 1 tub of whipped topping
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Instructions

Prepare cake as per package directions but add the 1 tsp of almond extract with the wet ingredients. Use a 13 x 9-inch pan and bake per package directions for that size.
Remove cake from oven and cool for 15 minutes.
With the handle end of a wooden spoon, poke hoes on the top of the cake, maybe 6 holes across, 10 holes down. I try to make mine look like a peg board with holes about 1-inch apart.
Beat pudding mix and milk in a small bowl for 1 minute; pour over top of the cake.
Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours--the longer the better.
Ice cake with the whipped topping before serving and cover the topping with the toasted coconut and toasted almonds.

Nutrition

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