Almond-Berry Coffee Cake by Elize Visser

Almond-Berry Coffee Cake by Elize Visser

Ingredients:

Topping:

1 cup flour

2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup sliced almonds, toasted

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Cake:

2 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

6 ounces, 1 ½ cups raspberries

2/3 cup blackberry jam

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

1 ¼ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups sour cream

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the Topping:

Whisk flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and almonds in a medium bowl. Using your fingers, work in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with almond extract; toss to combine.

Make the Cake:

Use cooking spray to coat a 10 inch tube pan with a removable bottom. Place pan on baking sheet. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Fold raspberries into jam in a small bowl. Put butter, sugar and zest into large bowl. Beat at medium-high speed til pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Mix in vanilla. Mix in half the reserved flour mixture, followed by the sour cream. Add remaining flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan. Mound berry mixture in a ring in center of batter. Top with remaining batter. Using a small offset spatula, smooth top. Sprinkle with the topping. Bake til golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 65-70 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan to loosen. Pull up on tube to lift cake from pan. Let cool on rack 15 minutes. Run knife between cake bottom and tube to loosen. Invert cake onto a baking sheet, removing tube portion, then reinvert onto rack to cool completely.

Submitted by Elize Visser