2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
16 ounces sour cream
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely ground toasted almonds
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
Whipped cream and fresh raspberries for garnish
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees.
Thoroughly butter a 10-inch tube to 12-cup Bundt
(fluted) pan, even if it has a nonstick finish, and include all the crannies of
the fluting and the center post. (Shortening works best). Dust with flour and
set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar until light
and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping sides of
bowl to incorporate each entirely. Add the almond extract and then the sour
cream. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
Add the ground almonds. (We purchased 1/3 pound whole almonds and had plenty.)
Using the low speed of a mixer, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
Fill the
prepared pan with half of the batter. Drop the raspberry preserves on the
batter, taking care not to let preserves touch the sides of the pan. (This is
hard to do. Next time we will make a little depression in the middle of the
batter for the preserves.)
Bake at 350
degrees for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the outside
circumference of the cake away from the preserves comes out clean. Run a knife
around the edges to loosen cake. Cool cake completely in pan before turning out
onto serving plate. Glaze with Chocolate Glaze. Garnish with whipped cream and
fresh raspberries.
Chocolate Glaze
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons raspberry or almond flavored
liqueur
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Heat the water, corn syrup and sugar to boil to
dissolve. Stir in chocolate and liqueur. (We used Sand Hill Berries Raspberry
Claret.) Let the mixture rest, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is
dissolved and incorporated into the glaze. Let glaze cool slightly to thicken
before using. (We had about twice as much glaze as needed. Next time we will
halve the recipe.)
This recipe was a "Last Bite" in Appellation magazine, which
features stories on food and wine.
