This one-bowl wonder is what all my neighbors are getting for the holidays this year. It’s delicious, it’s easy, and, best of all, you don’t have to defrost or chill anything at all. It goes from mixing bowl to done in under an hour (plus cooling time), and it makes your house smell amaze.

Almond is one of my favorite flavors, hands down. Probably why I love the pignoli cookies so much (and those cookies are probably why I add some pignoli nuts on top of this cake). I found this cake a couple of years ago, and have been experimenting with the ingredients ever since. It’s crunchy and chewy, sweet and buttery, and it’s great as a dessert or even as breakfast with a cup of coffee.

You don’t need anything fancy; all the ingredients are easily found at any grocery store. You don’t need a stand mixer, either, and you can use one bowl, so it’s a fast cleanup process. I bake mine in a springform pan, but you can use a regular cake pan or a brownie pan - whatever works the best for you.

Like I said, it’s super fast, so I baked four of these on Sunday morning to give to my neighbors for the holidays.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon reserved for the topping
2 eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 handful of pignoli nuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare your baking pan. I use a springform, so I put the springform on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and then I brush it with olive oil. The ingredients for this cake scream Italian to me, so that’s why I use olive oil, but I’m sure you could use coconut oil or butter/flour - whatever makes the most sense for you.

In a bowl, combine the melted butter and the sugar, and whisk together. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking each one until the color is bright and the texture is a little fluffy.

Add the salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and whisk all to combine.

Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, whisking between each. After the second batch of flour, I switch from a whisk to a rubber spatula, since the batter is pretty thick.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the sliced almonds onto the batter, leaving the center bare. In the center, sprinkle the pignoli nuts (If you’re leaving these out, then just sprinkle the sliced almonds all over the top).

Sprinkle the reserved tablespoon of sugar over the entire cake, and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Then pop it out of the spring form, and use a spatula to remove the cake from the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack and cool the rest of the way.

The cake can stay up to a week on the counter in an airtight container, and I’ve also frozen this cake for several months, so you can always keep one in the freezer for surprise company (does that even happen anymore?).

Enjoy!

Some variations that I’ve tried or wanted to try:

Apples. During apple season this past fall, I added some extra spices to the cake (nutmeg and ginger, plus a pinch of clove) and then added diced apples to the top with the almonds before baking it. It needed a little longer in the oven because of the moisture in the apples, but it was SO delicious.

Cherries. I love the idea of cherry/almond anything, so I’ve been wanting to make this with those yummy, candied cherries in the batter and on the top of it.

Chocolate. I wouldn’t add chocolate to the cake, but I think melting some to drizzle over the top after it comes out of the oven and cools would be a yummy addition. You could also bake the cake without the sliced almonds on top, then add a chocolate ganache and put toasted almonds on top of that (for ganache, just melt 1 cup of chocolate with 1/2 cup of whipping cream, and then bring it to room temperature).

If you try any of these, let me know! I’ll update the post if/when I do. Cheers!