Almond Joy Cake

I've been on a mini hiatus from my beloved dessert blog. Not sure if you noticed... But don't worry, I'm back! I was swept up in a whirlwind of travelling to Texas which involved sorting through my childhood memories, having a yard sale (good bye stuffed animals!), running a half marathon, and hanging with friends and family. It was fun and busy. I had a brief respite from the busy while on the plane back to NYC, but once I landed I hit the ground running.

I finally had time to bake this past Saturday. I decided to make a cake for an Oscar's Party (seeing last year's was such a success). Unfortunately I was so exhausted from all my activities that I didn't go to the party and ended up sharing with coworkers on Monday. (There are some perks of working with me. Only some though.) ;)

A couple of happy points about the cake:

1. I used my grandmother's mixing bowls that I brought back from TX. (I'm in love with them.)

2. I made a bundt cake version of the cake.

3. Which meant that this already messy cake was even messier! 

4. Mess!

5. Almonds scattered on floor messy mess! 

6. A scrumptious and pretty cake.

Almond Joy Cake

I used the chocolate cake recipe from my Blog Birthday Cake

Chocolate Cake (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
 
For the topping, I used a recipe from cooks.com
Ingredients
14 oz. shredded coconut
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
24 lg. marshmallows
1 stick butter
1/2 c. evaporated milk
Toasted almonds

While cake is cooking, mix the following: 1 cup evaporated milk and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add marshmallows. Stir until dissolved. Add coconut. Pour over hot cake until completely covered.

Heat the following until it boils: 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup evaporated milk and butter. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips until melted. Pour over cakes and top with almond chips.

Erika's Extras: There will be more topping than needed for most cakes. Just save the toppings to use on vanilla ice cream. Just warm up a little bit and add on top. Mmmm!

Extra tidbit: I shared a piece with my neighbor and she loved it so much she had me make it for her mom's birthday. Here it is in circular form. Still gorgeous!

Bake well and prosper!