A few months back, I bought a Nama Plant Milk maker. It felt a little bit like a superfluous purchase at the time, and since has become an absolutely indispensable part of our household. I feel so smart whenever I pull it out of the cabinet to make almond milk. Seeing my self-contented glow makes my husband, Pete, SO happy. And little Leo knows that whenever this device is on the countertop, magic, creamy almond milk is coming for breakfast.
But there are other reasons we can’t imagine living without this very smart device. One, the incredible, creamy sprouted almond milk it makes us (among other delicious malks.) Two, the abundance of almond flour we have on hand to make our favorite granola and other things. Three, this abundance of almond flour encouraged me to make this almond cake as a place to use it up. And now that this undeniable Almond Cake with Summer Stone Fruit is part of our lives, we are NOT looking back.
The cake you see in these images is literally the 8th cake we’ve made in 4 weeks. I kid you not. Literally, everywhere we go – whether it’s to a party, to the trail, to school, on a road trip – we’re trailing these cake crumbs. We are not sorry, nor will you be — it’s absolutely UNDENIABLY good.
To know me is to understand that my schedule gets absolutely slammed. Everything in the schedule is aligned, which makes it very tricky to drop anything. But slammed, none the less. And, because for the next few months we’re still refraining from gluten, dairy, and other major allergens, it means that most of our meals must be homemade…including all those little snacks that keep us going, our lunchboxes packed and our trail packs well stocked.
I don’t have a lot of time…to make anything. Much less a leisurely cake. But this one is easy to squeeze in. Last night, literally, I put Leo down to sleep, pitted the cherries, mixed the batter and had the cake panned in less than 15 minutes. (This is possible when the ingredients are on hand and you know the ingredients by heart because – again – you’ve made it 8 times recently.) Any cake I can make without breaking a sweat, messing up my kitchen, and can bake while I unwind for 30 minutes is a WIN all around for me.
Did I mention that it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and doesn’t contain refined sugar? Which means it’s highly digestible, and virtuous enough to eat for breakfast…or anytime. Be still my heart.
It uses up all of the almond flour we have in any given week from making almond milk, which means we’ve got a closed-loop situation going on in our kitchen which, if you’re a process person, is pretty much the most satisfying thing ever. But then, it’s so good which makes it all the more amazing! This cake ss tender, not too sweet, and literally bursting with summer fruits. If you “accidentally” put a bit too much fruit in, it doesn’t matter because the extra fruit literally makes the cake that much more juicy, tender and perfect.
The cake recipe itself was highly influenced by the very amazing Amy Chaplin, but Amy and I differ in our almond cake recipes in a few critical ways. First, I use a lot more salt and I can’t imagine this cake with less. It helps to really bring out the flavors for me. Second, the golden caramel top. Third, the quantity of fruit. Amy suggests many variations you could make here, but in my heart I want to demand that you use cherries because they’re just SO good (particularly a mix of Rainier and Sweet Red Cherries – yum.) And if cherries are no longer in season when you’re reading this, any of the other irresistable stone fruits will do. The cake has more adaptability than that, but I’m going to likely hang it up when fall arrives because this cake WITH the juicy summer fruits is pretty much heaven on earth as far as I’m concerned.
If I’m in a pinch, or need a nibble of something before I head out for an early run or ride, there’s a good chance I’ll pinch off some cake. But I’m also packing it in Leo’s lunchbox, taking it with me in my jersey pockets and plotting it in as my 4pm snack. It’s just perfection – light, fresh, juicy and without being heavy, cloying or “too much.” (Is there anything as too much cake? YES.)
If you plan to be out and about this weekend, and didn’t plan to make or bake anything, you still have time and space to make this cake and I do hope you will!
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