Almond Butter Cake (recipe)

This is a good recipe if you're looking for a simple cake but want something a tad more exiting than a basic butter cake.

It's from the Women's Weekly Classic Cakes book, which is gorgeous by the way. The photography and styling in it is wonderful.

INGREDIENTS
250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond essence
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
1 cup self-raising flour
½ cup plain flour
¾ cup almond meal

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180°Celsius

2. Beat butter, essence and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time

4. Fold in half of the sifted flours and almond meal, followed by the other half

5. Spread mixture into a lined 19cm square cake tin and bake for 30 minutes then turn your oven to 160°Celsius and bake for another 30 minutes

TIPS & TRICKS

• To soften your butter, place it in a bowl and microwave for 10 - 15 seconds.
• Almond essence isn't hard to find, it should be with the vanilla essence and other cooking supplies in your supermarket.
• Folding is used to incorporate air into your mixture, so instead of using a stirring motion, cut the mixture in half with your spatula and then fold. If you are still confused, here is a short video on how to do it.
• As with any cake, signs that it's cooked include the top springing back lightly when touched and the cake coming away from the sides of the tin. Also the classic skewer test - stick one in the cake and if it comes out clean it's done.

Serve with icing sugar and if you're a really big fan of almonds, you can chuck some flaked almonds on as well.

Until next time.