Almond mini cakes

I wanted to bring in something nice to work, using the pretty tea cake pan my friend had lent me. And I also wanted to try the almond paste I had picked up at Surfas a while back. So a little poking around on the web, and I came upon this recipe from Gourmet. It looked easy and delicious. And boy was it. Even my picky daughter loved it. 

The recipe is for 12 mini cakes, so I quadrupled it. I got enough for the 30 mini cakes in the mini bundt pan, and 2 mini muffin tins, plus about 4 more (because the mini tea cakes are little smaller than regular mini muffins). 

Almond Cakes

Adapted from Gourmet

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1/2 tablespoon, melted 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting molds 

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons almond paste (not marzipan; 4 oz)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180c). Butter and flour the pans (I used baking spray). 

Sift the flour and salt together. 

Place the butter in a large bowl and cream with the sugar with electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in the almond paste. I'd recommend crumbling it in with your fingers to prevent lumps). Add the vanilla, and then one egg at a time. Finally add the flour and beat until just combined. 

Spoon in to the pans (about 1 tbsp each) and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden at the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack. And dust with confectioner's sugar before serving. 

These taste better after an hour or so (or after you've given your nose a break from the almond smell) otherwise they somehow don't taste as almondy. Not that the taste is overpowering. I'd say it's perfect.