Almond Good Luck Cake
I make this cake for every New Year's Eve dinner. It's said that the person who finds the one whole almond inside will have good luck during the upcoming year.
—Vivian Nikanow, Chicago, Illinois
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
- 1 tablespoon plus 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 whole almond
- APRICOT GLAZE:
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
Reviews
I made this cake for New Year's Day and everyone loved it. I don't love lemonso I went a little light on lemon juice and used 2 t of almond extract and no vanilla. Also, I dropped in several whole almonds so that everyone received good luck. The cake was moist and really yummy. Everyone thought the apricot preserves was a nice addition. I will make this again.
I followed the recipe exactly but did not have good luck with this cake. It was dry and crumbly, and fell apart when I was trying to get it out of the pan.
Not sure why but my family just thought this cake was okay. We were really expecting more of a wow because of all the great reviews. I followed the recipe exactly. The apricot/ orange topping was very good.
I love almond flavored anything and loved the idea of starting a New Year's lucky cake tradition so thought we'd try this and I'm so glad we did. I don't always have luck with bundt pans, but this one came out ALMOST perfect, only one tiny little piece stuck to the side and that's the closest I've ever come to bundt cake perfection, so I'll take it! The cake presents beautifully with the chopped almonds on top and the flavor is light and moist, perfect for a New Year's breakfast/brunch. Honestly, the only thing I would do differently next time is to use 2 tsp almond extract and just leave out the vanilla extract. Just wanted a little more almond flavor.
This is a really nice cake. Reminds me of a pound cake. Texture is fine and I think it will taste even better the next day. The only change I made was to skip the glaze and drizzled some fresh squeezed orange juice mixed with icing sugar.
Love this, I wish I'd found it before I planned my New Years dessert! I will do it next time I need a great dessert. (maybe in a couple days!! : )
Lee Ann...yes you can use a bundt pan. I believe that is what a fluted tube pan is, and to me, it looks that way in the picture. I gave it 5 starts because I have never made this and didn't want a negative review to post; but from the reviews, sounds like a recipe I would give 5 Stars to anyway. Enjoy!
Can I use a bundt pan? This looks amazing! What a cute idea! Thank you
Oh, my gosh, did my family love this cake when I made it yesterday!! When our kids were little, I made a similar cake for Epiphany every year. It was always exciting to see who got the almond. The one who did got to wear a crown for the day. The flavor of this cake is much better than the one I used to make. My husband said this is his new "favorite" cake! So light, & the citrus flavor is delicious. I added 1/2 tsp more of the lemon peel because we like lemon cakes, but other than that, I didn't change a thing. Will be making it often during the year! Thank you, Vivian, for sharing this delicious recipe!
Awesome cake! I use a lemon flavored glaze instead of apricot. This will be our new tradition along with baking traditional Irish soda bread to go with our meal.