Raspberry, White Chocolate and Almond Cake

A daily serving (1 cup) of raspberries provides:
60 Calories with 15g Carbohydrate, 1g Protein, and 1g Fat
50% of your day's supply of vitamin C
32% of your day's supply of fiber
6% of your day's supply of folic acid

A one-ounce, 160-calorie serving of almonds, or about a handful, is an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium, and a good source of fiber. It also offers heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, protein, potassium, calcium, phosphorous and iron.
Eating a daily handful of almonds a day may lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol.
Eating almonds may help maintain or even lose weight.

I wanted to throw in the nutritional values of almonds and raspberries to show that this cake does have some redeeming nutritional qualities. It is, however, fabulously rich. Hopefully the butter and sugar do not cancel out all the vitamins. I found this recipe about a year ago in a book called Quick Breads, by Liz Franklin. I found gorgeous raspberries at Publix the other day and decided it was time I tried it. I made several changes to the original recipe, including the addition of vanilla, decreasing the amount of butter, the use of regular granulated sugar instead of superfine, and the elimination of lemon juice. It is a wonderfully unusual combination of flavors. I will, however, bake it in small loaf pans or a muffin tin next time, because it some of it stuck in the bottom of the pan when I turned it out, even though I baked it for the correct amount of time.

Raspberry, White Chocolate and Almond Cake

2 sticks butter, softened
1 - 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 - 1/4 cups ground almonds
1 - 1/4 cups raspberries (1-6 oz pkg)
1 cup white chocolate morsels
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat in flour and almonds. Stir in white chocolate and raspberries. Pour into greased muffin tins or mini loaf pans and bake for about 30-40 minutes. If you use a large loaf pan, bake for at least an hour and 15 minutes. The loaf should be risen and golden and a skewer should come out clean when inserted into the center. Leave the cake in the pans to cool for about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Grind the almonds in a processor. I left some of them in pieces:


Gently stir in the white chocolate and raspberries:

Pour into a greased loaf pan, mini pans, or muffin tins.

Allow to cool and dust with confectioners' sugar. The tart-sweetness of the raspberries combined with the creaminess of the white chocolate and the crunch of the almonds is a true adventure in flavor. I can eat only about half a slice at a time.