cherry almond snacking cakes

i'm a sucker for books. and by books, i mean real books, with printed pages. i don't care what the research says, there's something about reading a real book that an ebook can't match. no way. and when i find a book i want to buy, i'm the one who reaches in the back of the stack - past at least four or five of the same book - to get a copy that no one else has opened. i want the new book smell. the crack of the spine when i open to read it. which brings me to borders, a week and a half ago, when their going out of business sales kicked off. and while we were waiting in line to check out, i noticed a huge sale sign in front of the magazines. needless to say i walked out with all the america's test kitchen special editions i could get my hands on. and promptly made these cakes the next day.

i'm also a sucker for sweet cherries, now easily going through two pounds a week (i'm not the only one who eats them over the garbage can). add almond to the mix and i'm sold. these are the perfect sweet treat to a summer meal. not too sweet, nice and light, and the ripe cherries cook up perfectly.

and now that i've had my first taste of a new york state peach, i can't wait for peach season to be completely and totally on. i have a feeling these cakes will show up again with peach and vanilla. and if you aren't a fan of cherries, the original recipe called for mixed berries and vanilla extract.

cherry almond snacking cakes
adapted from america's test kitchen cooking for two, 2011
45 minutes plus cooling time, makes 4-5 mini bundt cakes

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
1 cup ripe sweet cherries, pitted and halved

1. preheat your oven to 350F. grease four one cup or five three quarters of a cup mini bundt pans.
2. in a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. set aside.
3. in a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. beat in the egg and then almond extract until combined.
5. beat in one third of the flour mixture and two tablespoons milk. repeat with another third of the flour mixture and two tablespoons of milk. add the last third of the flour mixture. fold in the cherries.
6. divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, filling them about three quarters full. smooth tops of the batter and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about twenty minutes.
7. let cakes cool in the pan about 10 minutes before inverting them onto a wire rack. cool completely before devouring.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday!