Today’s almond loaf cake wasn’t meant to happen; Justin requested a coconut cake that he could have with an afternoon cup of tea. We didn’t have any dessicated coconut in the store cupboard, and it was out of stock when I went to by some from the supermarket.
A snap decision in Morrison’s saw me pick up a bag of ground almonds instead… and what a good decision that turned out to be.
A last-minute, quick, basic wet & dry recipe that turned out to be taste triumph!
A little drizzle of chocolate finished it off nicely.
A new one for my afternoon tea cake repertoire!
Almond loaf cake
Ingredients
- 175 g/6oz + 1tbsp golden caster sugar
- 150 g/5oz butter softened
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp almond essence
- 4 tbsp milk
- 125 g/4½oz plain flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 150 g/5oz ground almonds
- 50 g/2oz dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175ºC/325°F/Gas mark
- Grease a 450g/1lb loaf tin
- Cream the butter and sugar together
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined
- Stir in the almond essence and the milk
- In another mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt
- Stir this into the wet ingredients in three batches, stirring well after each addition
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin, levelling out using a spatula or back of the spoon
- Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean
- Allow to cool in the tin for at least half an hour
- Break up the chocolate into a small heat-proof bowl
- Melt in a bain-marie or in 10-second bursts in a microwave
- Make a piping bag out of a triangle of parchment paper, fill with the melted chocolate and zig-zag over the top of the cake
- Serve