~Almond Cake~

A one bowl mix cake that is perfection in flavor.  That is,  pour all the ingredients in a bowl, mix it and bake it.  I like this recipe baked in a cast iron skillet although you can use any cake pan.  The cast iron gives the cake a little crisp edge from the brown sugar and for myself, I just love that texture.  It is rich and flavorful and is perfect for thin slices.

See the photos after the recipe for a guide on how-to. 

Visual & Babble:

Real simple directions:  After measuring all the ingredients in a bowl beat with an electric mixer until all is incorporated and smooth.  Easy, eh?!

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Pour and spread into your pan.

Bake at 320 for about 45 – 55 minutes.  *Tip:  Top will rise and spring back when touched but don’t open the door and bang it shut because the cake will “fall” in the middle.  I wait until I see the edges come away from the pan a bit then I check. But a good clue is when the edges are coming away from the sides after the amount of timing has gone by. Check it. Don’t let your better half come in and open the oven door and close it without you knowing it…

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When the cake is cooled slice the cake in half (horizontally) and fill the cake with half the icing mixture then ice the top with the rest.  This part does not have to be so neat because no one is going to really see it. It will be covered with almond slivers so go for it.

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Get out those slivered almonds and just press them against the sides and the top. 

Lastly, eat.

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More Babble:

Pan:  I have learned that preparing the pan is more than half of the success of baking.  So do it. Prepare the pan by lining with parchment and then spray with baking spray or butter and flour.   I find using parchment on the bottom then spraying a bit of baking spray or butter works beautifully in the cast iron skillet.  I did not use cake strips on this pan because it is cast iron. I wanted that seasoned taste and bake to come up this way. HOWEVER, if you use regular cake pans use the strips! That will keep the cake from browning on the edges and give you a much more even bake and one color cake.

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Cast Iron:  I love using cast iron.  For some crazy reason, seasoning or whatever, it just tastes better.  So when I went to get my 7″ pan and discovered it missing in action, I pulled out the cast iron pot (not pan).  I am glad I pulled out the pot because this recipe rises a bit more because it is only in a 7″ diameter.  Hope that makes sense.  But the cast iron worked beautifully and I will be using it more often just because I like it.

Flour:  Self-Rising Flour.  Did I say Self-Rising?  Yes!  Self-Rising Flour!! 

Margarine as opposed to butter. In some of the one bowl mixers margarine straight out of the refrigerator works because of it’s water content and having a softer texture in cakes. I don’t substitute my older recipes calling for margarine because of that. Water content is important in these older recipes and they have been developed around using margarine, not butter. I don’t use margarine that much, but when I do it is for the recipe calling for it. I do not change that out. So I can’t guarantee that sub would work in my recipes calling for margarine.

Icing:  The amount of icing here should be enough, but if you are one of those people that prefers a real think layer of icing, then you may want to double the recipe.  I find what I have here is just the right amount and I put more in between the layers than I do on the top.  Don’t ask me why I do that, call me crazy, but again, these are easy recipes here on Mrs. Shecky and you can do as you please to make yourself happy because that is what being in the kitchen is all about, that yummy happiness.

Thanks for stopping into my kitchen and don’t forget to 

Bake Yourself Happy!

Mrs. Shecky