Almond-Berry Coffee Cake

Try substituting unsweetened applesauce out for some of the oil! Experiment with finding the balance between healthy and tasty!

{Ingredients}

Serves 8

• Topping
• 1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup(s) packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 3/4 cup(s) sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) pure almond extract
• CAKE
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 6 ounce(s) (1 1/2 cups) raspberries
• 2/3 cup(s) blackberry jam
• 3/4 cup(s) (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cup(s) granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) finely grated lemon zest
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup(s) sour cream

{Directions}

1. 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 ranging in size from small peas to marbles. 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 a 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 the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Mix in half the reserved flour mixture, followed by the sour cream. Add remaining flour mixture; beat until just combined. Spoon half 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 until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack, 10 to 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. Invert cake onto a baking sheet, removing tube portion, then reinvert onto rack to cool completely.

{Cooking Notes}

1. MAKING APPLE BUTTER AT HOME--So, you do not want 40 gallons of apple butter and you do not have 25 friends willing to spend two days peeling, snitting, stirring and canning with you. Does that mean your only hope for apple butter is the Apple Butter Festival or buying a commercial product that has no similarity to the authentic stuff? The answer should be “yes,” at least to attending the festival, but honestly, it is not. You can make apple butter in small quantities for home use in everything from a four-quart stainless steel pot to a microwave. When you make a small quantity, you do not need to peel the apples, instead you can remove the peels by putting the softened apples (the puree) through a sieve or food mill.