Black Forest Crumb Cake

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder, dutch-process (such as hershey's european style or droste)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 5 tablespoons butter, cold
• 1/3 cup almonds, slivered, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder, dutch-process
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup butter
• 12 ounces frozen cherries, thawed (no sugar added)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate, minichips
• powdered sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°.
• 2 crumb topping: stir together flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon. use a pastry blender to mix in brown sugar. cut in cold butter until mixture is made up of medium crumbs about the size of peas. stir in almonds; refrigerate topping while preparing cake.
• 3 cake: grease bottom of an 8 or 9-inch square disposable pan; place in a larger pan or on a baking sheet. set aside.
• 4 in large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. briefly beat in eggs and butter; mixture will be crumbly.
• 5 drain liquid from cherries into a measuring cup; add enough cream to make 3/4 cup liquid. beat liquid into cake mixture. add extract; continue to beat at medium speed until batter is smooth and light. stir in cherries and minichips.
• 6 spread batter evenly in prepared pan; smooth top. sprinkle with crumb mixture.
• 7 bake about 35 minutes. (test for doneness with wooden pick in center of cake.)
• 8 let cool completely in pan. just before serving, dust with sifted powdered sugar.