Almond Brown Butter Cake

Almond Brown Butter Cake                           Nancy Harrison

Note: This is a cake for special occasions. It has a lot of steps and is totally worth the effort!

Ingredients:

1 ½ stick Butter

1 C Almonds, lightly toasted in a 300-degree oven

1 C + 2 T Granulated Sugar

1 C Flour

Pinch of Salt

3 Lg Eggs

1 T Baking Powder

¾ C Heavy Cream

Cake Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place a round of buttered parchment paper in the bottom of a tall-sided 9” round pan; butter the sides

2.    Brown butter in a small saucepan until light brown – about 10 minutes.  Watch carefully so as not to scorch

3.    Process almonds with 2 T sugar in food processor until finely ground.  Mix together with flour, baking powder and salt; set aside

4.    Beat eggs and sugar with mixer for 5 minutes until pale yellow and thick; add cream and beat; add almond flour mixture slowly; mix just til combined

5.    Pour batter into pan; bake until edges begin to pull away from the pan; about 40 minutes.  Rotate pan once while baking

6.    Meanwhile make ginger syrup.  In a small saucepan, stir together ¼ c each sugar and water; remove from heat and add 1 T chopped fresh ginger; cover and let steep for at least 10 minutes

7.    When cake is done, remove from oven and let cool on rack.  Using a heat resistant brush, brush the ginger syrup onto the cake allowing it to absorb completely

Sugared Pears

2 Firm Ripe Pears, sliced thinly

In skillet, melt 1 T butter, sprinkle 1 T sugar; then add one layer of pear slices, cook until browned and glazed; cook additional layers with sugar and butter until all pears are cooked; place on top of cake; slice and serve with sour cream

Honeyed Sour Cream

Mix 1 C sour cream and 2 T honey together; add a dollop to cake slices