Chocolate-marble sour-cream cake w/cinnamon-almond toppin

Yield: 10 servings

Measure Ingredient
6 ounces Semisweet Chocolate, (Chips or Squares)
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 cup Granulated Sugar, plus 2 tbs
2 larges Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Sour Cream, Reduced-Fat Or Regular
⅔ cup Toasted Almonds*, chopped
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

* Buy almonds that are already chopped and toasted. Or buy chopped blanched almonds, spread them on a cookie sheet, and bake 10 to 15 mins at 350 F., until medium brown.

Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 10 X 4-inch tube pan with removable bottom. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Remove from the heat. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Stir to mix well. In a large bowl beat the butter and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low. Add about ⅓ of the flour mixture and, not waiting until it is completely mixed in, about ⅓ of the sour cream. Continue until all the flour and sour cream have been added, mixing only until blended. Spread about half the batter in the prepared pan. Drop melted chocolate in spoonfuls over the batter and spread gently with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with about ½ the nuts. Drop the remaining batter on top of the nuts and spread gently. Mix the remaining nuts with the cinnamon and 2 Tbs granulated sugar. Sprinkle over the batter. To create a marbled or swirled effect, hold a table knife upright in the batter, almost touching the bottom of the pan. Make zigzag 'cuts' through the batter from side to side all the way around the pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hr. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 mins. Cut around the edge of the cake and tube with a knife to loosen. Remove the pan sides. Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan bottom. Serve with a few hours or wrap airtight and keep at room temperature overnight, or freeze. YIELD: 10 to 12 portions.

Recipe By : Tea Breads And Coffeecakes - ISBN 0-06-016149-3 From: Dan Klepach Date: 05-10-95 (159) Fido: Cooking

Similar recipes