Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've wanted to try this recipe for years. I've seen it in many places but the version I used today came from Allrecipes. The cake intrigued me because it uses jam rather than berries. I tend to horde my stash of berries and use them only for special desserts. The cake is easy to make and can be on the table in a little over an hour. It consists of a layer of pastry that's covered with a cheese filling and spread with raspberry jam before being sprinkled with a struessel topping. It's a nice cake and I will keep the recipe. I have other coffee cakes that I prefer, but I like to have something new in reserve for the folks who eat regularly at my table. I substituted mascarpone for the cream cheese and used my own freezer jam rather than a commercial product. I'll use cream cheese the next time I make this and I plan to increase the amount of jam from 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup. I think I'll also try blackberry or peach jam in place of the raspberry. This is not a particularly sweet cake, nor will it win any beauty contests. It's makes a nice light dessert and would work well as part of a brunch buffet. If I had to sum up the cake in a single word the word I'd select would be "nice." Not great, just nice. Here's the recipe for a nice cake.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Allrecipes

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cold butter

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

1 egg, beaten

1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract

FILLING:

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Remove 1 cup and set aside. To remaining crumbs, add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sour cream, egg and almond extract; mix well. Spread in the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan.

2) To make filling, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg in a small bowl until blended. Pour over batter; spoon raspberry jam on top. Sprinkle with almonds and reserved crumbs.

3) Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; remove sides from pan. Dust top with confectioners' sugar if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

This post is being linked to Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

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