Strawberry-Almond Coffee Cake

Filling

2-15 ounce cans strawberries or 30 ounces of fresh strawberries cut small or 2-21 ounce cans strawberry pie filling with one can cleaned of all juices and mixed with other can

¼ cup granulated sugar (omit if pie filling is used)

2 table spoons cornstarch (omit if pie filling is used)

Variation – substitute tart cherries or cherry pie filling for strawberries

Streusel & Cake

2½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

7 ounces almond paste crumbled into small pieces (about 2 ½ cups)

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Almond Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Filling…

If fresh or canned strawberries (cherries) are used, mix with sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat.  Mash fruit with a potato masher and cook until thick and jamlike – about 25 minutes.  Mixture should measure about 2 cups.  Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.  If using pie filling, wash filling from fruit from one can, mix cleaned fruit with full can of fruit and mash.  Cook until bubbly and reduce to 2 cups of filling

Streusel…

Whisk 1 ¼ cups flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, all of the brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in medium bowl.  Using fork, stir in 7 ounces of butter until mixture is the size of peas.  Stir in ½ cup crumbled almond paste and set aside.

Cake Batter…

Heat oven to 350° with baking rake at center of oven.  Grease and flour 13 x 9 glass baking dish.  Combine remaining flour, baking powder and remaining salt in medium bowl.  In separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, and extracts.  With mixer on medium-high speed, beat remaining almond paste, remaining sugar and 8 ounces of softened butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add sour-cream mixture and beat until incorporated.  Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing about 1 minute until just combined.  Return mixer to medium-high speed and beat until fluffy, about 1 additional minute.

Baking…

Scrape batter into dish and spread evenly.  Dollop fruit mixture over batter and spread to within ½” of edges of pan.  Sprinkle streusel over fruit mixture and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Cool completely, about 2 hours.

Glaze…

Combine sugar, extract and 2 tablespoons water.  Add additional sugar if necessary to make a thick glaze.  Drizzle over cake.  Can be kept 3 days at room temperature covered in plastic wrap.