WARM ALMOND CAKES WITH GRAPES

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Warm Almond Cakes With Grapes image

We like serving these chewy, moist almond cakes, which are based on the financier, a French pastry, in individual gratin dishes, but the batter can also be baked in a 9-inch glass pie plate for 30 to 35 minutes.

Categories     Cake     Blender     Mixer     Fruit     Nut     Dessert     Bake     Quick & Easy     Almond     Cognac/Armagnac     Fall     Grape     Ramekin     Gourmet

Yield Makes 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

1 1/2 tablespoons Cognac (optional)
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds (3 3/4 ounces)
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Special Equipment
4 shallow 1/3-cup gratin dishes (1/2 inch deep)

Steps:

  • Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
  • If using Cognac, toss grapes with it in a small bowl.
  • Pulse half of almonds with 1 tablespoon sugar in a blender until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and repeat with remaining almonds and 1 more tablespoon sugar.
  • Beat together butter and remaining 6 tablespoons sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and beat in ground almonds, flour, and salt until just combined.
  • Divide batter among gratin dishes and press grapes lightly into batter (discard Cognac). Bake in dishes on a baking sheet until cake is firm and pale golden with slightly darker edges, about 20 minutes.
  • Transfer cakes to a rack and cool slightly in dishes before serving.

There are no comments yet!