-Amy Adams on Julie and Julia
I am a big believer in butter. It makes everything taste better. I search for recipes online to try. I usually find them on blogs, foodnetwork.com or Pinterest. When narrowing down which recipe to choose I always go for the one with more better. They are always the best option.
When using my recipes you will often see the ingredient...1 pound of butter. I love butter.
This cake I'm posting about today is one I did a while ago and it's become a family favorite. I found this recipe in the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook that can be found on amazon.com This book is full of delicious recipes that have been so fun to make!
This is Hermione's birthday cake for Harry in the fourth book. Hermione's Cherry Bakewell Cake is a two layer light almond cake with cherry filling and a light whipped butter frosting.
Ingredients-
Almond Cake-
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
Butter Frosting
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole milk
To finish the cake
1/2 cup cherry pie filling
Maroschino cherries, for decorating
Toasted sliced almonds, for decorating
Directions-
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 in pans and line with parchment paper (IMPORTANT). Whisk flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
2. Cream sugar and butter for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each egg. Add almond extract. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately starting and ending with flour mixture. Scrape the bowl and fold in any flour that wasn't mixed in.
3. Separate batter evenly into two pans and bake for 25 minutes. (If using 9 inch pans cook for 21 minutes) Cakes should feel firm. Make sure a toothpick comes out of the center clean when cakes are finished. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then invert on wire racks to cool completely.
4. For the frosting, beat all ingredients together for 7 minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Assembly. Place the first cake face down on the platter, cover with a layer of frosting, and then cover with 1/2 cup cherry pie filling. Spread around to cover the top of this layer. Place second cake on top. Frost the cake and decorate as desired with cherries and almonds.
NOTES- I often make 1 1/2 times the frosting so I have enough to do some fun piping on the sides and really make the cake look pretty. This cake is so light and tasty you could literally eat a quarter of the cake and still want more. I love this cake.
If anyone has any questions let me know!
