Berry Almond Cake

by Rachel Robey

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Serves: 8

A descendant of Martha Stewart’s fresh strawberry cake, Rachel Robey’s cake adapts those peak summer flavors into a recipe that delights even in the depths of a zone five Wisconsin winter. Under a thin crackling coat of sugar, thawed frozen raspberries melt into the batter for a bright, jammy center. Almond flour, Meyer lemon zest, and buttermilk yield a perfectly tender and tangy crumb that keeps well for a few days, making this an ideal recipe for both special occasions and casual snacking. Serve the cake simply with a dollop of whipped cream or dress it up with candied herbs and flowers—either way, it’s a welcome reminder that summer warmth isn’t so far away.

Ingredients

For Cake:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, separated
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon almond flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed in a colander or mesh sieve
For Whipped Cream Topping:
¾ cup heavy whipping cream, cold
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Herbs, candied or dried fruit, and/or flowers for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round springform pan.
Combine 1 cup of granulated sugar and the lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until it becomes fragrant and feels like damp sand. Add the butter and, using a hand or stand mixer, cream together with the sugar on medium-high speed for three minutes until light and fluffy.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and slowly stream in buttermilk mixture, combining thoroughly to encourage it to emulsify. This should take a minute or two. Don’t worry if it looks curdled or split. Add the flour mixture in two additions, incorporating each addition on low speed before proceeding. Once the flour is mostly incorporated, switch to a rubber spatula and fold along the edges and bottom to ensure all ingredients are well-mixed.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Pat the raspberries dry and dot the surface of the batter with them. Sprinkle the remaining two tablespoons of sugar evenly across the top.
Set the cake pan on the center rack in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 degrees F and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and transfer it to a cake plate.
In a chilled bowl, whip the cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
Once the cake is cooled to room temperature, spread whipped cream on top and adorn it with herbs, fruit, berries and/or flowers. (In the photo below, we grated freeze-dried raspberries through a sieve over the whipped cream and garnished the cake with sage.)