Black currant amaretto cakes

 

In my most recent CSA basket, I got these late-summer berries (pictured below ) and I, the food-lover that I am, did not have a clue what they were. All I did know was that they were NOT blueberries.

Black currants are typically used to make liqueurs. The French term for black currant is cassis

Currants are actually quite common a berry at our local markets and I’ve baked with red currants before, which I’ve used to make these red currant muffins or this strawberry and red currant jam. Fresh, currants are quite tart, so they are perfect baked into a sweet late summer cake. I’ve even made a black currant cake topped with a sweet crumble.

For this recipe, I used yogurt in the cake batter but a common baking substitution would be to replace it with full fat sour cream in the cake batter, which would make these cakes a lot richer. I flavoured the batter with vanilla extract, amaretto, and a touch of organic almond extract to reinforce the flavour of the liqueur. The nutty, amaretto cake is the perfect complement to the tart black currants.

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Black currant amaretto cakes

This amaretto cakes are made with a splash of amaretto to give it an almond flavour, with tart black currants mixed in, then baked in mason jars to make individual cakes that would be great with vanilla ice cream!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword amaretto cake, black currant amaretto cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 23 minutes

Total Time 43 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 350kcal

Author Janice

Equipment

OXO whisk

Braun mixer

GIR spatula

Cake tester

Ingredients

• 95 grams (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
• 2.5 mL (½ tsp) baking powder
• 0.625 mL (⅛ tsp) baking soda
• 0.625 mL (⅛ tsp) fine kosher salt
• 58 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter room temperature
• 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) amaretto liqueur
• 2.5 mL (½ tsp) pure vanilla extract
• 2.5 mL (½ tsp) finely grated lemon zest
• 0.625 mL (⅛ tsp) pure almond extract
• 80 mL (⅓ cup) yogurt (2 % fat)
• 85 grams (3 oz) black currants 1/4 pint
• 8 grams (1 tbsp) all-purpose flour
• Vanilla bean ice cream optional for serving on top

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease four 250 mL mason jars.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended. Set aside for later.
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until well blended, about 3 minutes.
• Add the egg, beating well until it's incorporated.
• Add the amaretto, vanilla, lemon zest, and almond extract.
• Add the dry ingredients and the yoghurt alternately to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
• Toss the black currants with 1 tablespoon of flour. Fold the berries into the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared jars and smooth out the surface.
• Bake until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with scoops of vanilla bean ice cream.

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Nutrition

Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 490IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 2mg

Janice

Janice Lawandi is chemist-turned-baker, working as a recipe developer in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She studied pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa and cooking at l’Académie Culinaire. She has a BSc in Biochemistry from Concordia University and a PhD in Chemistry from McGill University. Visit janicelawandi.com to see my portfolio.