Raspberry Apple Cake

My "ever-bearing" raspberries are well into their second crop, and I can barely keep up with the harvest this year. If you have access to a similar supply, this cake will make a wonderful dessert. Sorry, but those who have to buy raspberries will hardly find this a "frugal" recipe. When strawberries are next in season, I may a substitution.

We first enjoyed this dessert as a birthday cake for my six-year-old grandson. The richness of the cake eliminates the need for any frosting (though a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream is a good addition), but no one seemed to mind not having a traditional-looking cake. Wish I could tell you how well it keeps, but it was eaten too quickly to know!

About the yield: I adapted this from several recipes on the internet. Since most of these seemed on the small side, I increased the amounts and discovered that my standard angel food cake pan seemed a little too small for the amount of batter that resulted. Six cupcakes were perfect for a six year old's cake (we put them in a circle on a plate and inserted a candle in each one), and the kids ate cupcakes while the adults had slices of the larger cake. Most bundt cake pans and perhaps larger angel food pans would hold the entire batch, but having cupcakes along with a cake provides nice leftovers--and they would freeze well for sharing with a drop in neighbor or friend!

Raspberry Apple Cake and Cupcakes

1 c butter, slightly softened
2 c sugar
2 1/2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 c ground almonds
1 c finely chopped apples (I used McIntosh, with the peeling left on)
4 eggs
6 T milk
1 t almond extract
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
3 c raspberries +a few more for the top

1. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and almonds. Using a mixer at low to medium setting, mix in the softened butter until evenly crumbly.
2. Stir in the eggs, milk, flavorings, and apples and beat on low until creamy. Fold in the raspberries.
3. Grease and flour well a 10 inch tube pan and prepare six cupcake liners. (These will release better from the papers if you give each a shot of non-stick spray.) Pour the batter into the pans.
4. If desired, sprinkle the top of the cake with raspberries. Put two to three raspberries on each cupcake, lightly pressing them into the batter.
5. Bake the cupcakes for about 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake the cake for about 55 to 65 minutes. If the cake begins to brown too early, turn the oven down to 325 for the last 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Leave the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a cake plate. This will slice best if cooled for several hours or overnight--if you can wait that long.