Almond Cake with Cherry Flambé

Name: Almond Cake with Cherry Flambé
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 8 - 10
Ingredients: [[[FOR THE CAKE]]]; 1 cup almond paste; 1 ¼ cups sugar; 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla; 6 eggs; 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted; 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; [[[FOR THE FLAMBE]]]; 1 jar Chukar® Cherries Jubilee; 1 tablespoon orange juice; 1/8 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest; 1/4 cup brandy

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30 minutes

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE
1 cup almond paste
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
6 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
FOR THE FLAMBE
1 jar Chukar® Cherries Jubilee
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/8 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1/4 cup brandy

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
Combine the almond paste and sugar in a food processor and pulse until well blended. Add the butter and vanilla, pulse until well combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and pulse until just combined. Do not overmix.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the processor and pulse until blended.
Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the cake is golden on top and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Place on a rack to cool to room temperature before removing from pan and slicing.
FOR THE FLAMBE
In a saucepan, whisk together the Cherries Jubilee, orange juice, and zest. Simmer on low for 5-7 minutes.
Remove cherry sauce from the heat and pour in the brandy. With care, hold a lit long lighter close to the cherry sauce to ignite the fumes.
Gently shake the saucepan until the blue flame has extinguished itself. Spoon the sauce over plated almond cake slices.
Caution: When flambéing, the flames may get quite high, so pay attention to anything flammable above and around where you ignite the cherries. The goal is to keep the small, blue flame burning for as long as possible, thereby reducing the alcohol flavor, caramelizing the sugar, and entertaining your guests! When the initial large flame has died down, a small blue flame will continue to burn for several seconds. Gently, shake or stir the saucepan to expose more alcohol to the flame, taking care not to burn the sauce.