Tiny Cherry and Almond Tea Cakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffins tins. Place mini-muffin paper liner inside each cup.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to sputter, reduce heat. Cook until butter has lightly browned. Skim foam from top and remove skillet from heat.

Whisk together flour, ground almonds, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add egg whites and whisk until smooth. Stir in flavoring. Pour in butter, leaving any dark brown sediment in skillet and whisk to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup, filling about halfway. Push a cherry in each, keeping stem up. With a small spoon, smooth batter over cherries to cover. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and cakes are golden brown, 12-15 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges to loosen, and unmold. Cakes can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature overnight.

Makes 2 dozen.

Source: “Adapted from the July 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine” S(Internet Address): “http://blog.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2007/06/getting_fresh_ herry_wonderful.html” Yield: “24 mini-muffins”

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 2243 Calories; 95g Fat (37.3% calories from fat); 33g Protein; 324g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 248mg Cholesterol; 2423mg Sodium. Exchanges: 6 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fruit; 18 1/2 Fat; 13 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : A few notes: The original recipe calls for 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, and I reduced the amount to 8. I think you could get away with just six or seven tablespoons and still get a buttery result.

Right now, the price of almond flour is out of control, nearly double than what I paid in the spring, around 13 bucks for a six-ounce bag. To cut costs, I recommend buying slivered almonds in bulk and grinding them at home in a food processor.

The recipe calls for a mini-muffin tin. I suppose you could wing it with a regular muffin tin, but I’m unable to vouch for the variation at this juncture. I’m assuming you’d get a batch of 12, rather than 24. And that reminds me, the recipe yields 24 cakes, rather than 30, as originally published.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0