Almond-Crusted Butter Cake

Today's cake is dedicated to The Home Bakers.

I rarely like to discuss about work because, as stressful, busy and time consuming work is, it will pass. Whining and complaining gets nowhere, and nothing gets done. But this time round its different. Juggling between finishing a dissertation, publications and finding a new job that pays the bill does take its toll. There were times that, I felt I wanted to throw the laptop away and move to the mountains. Thankfully, sometimes when things get tough, indulging in my hobby (cooking, baking and blogging about it) cheers me up, but it could be time consuming. Initially I couldn't bring myself to bake this cake as it seems to be a poor way to manage my time, but I felt so left out not baking this cake because (i) I really, really enjoy baking together with fellow THB members; (ii) butter is my favourite ingredient and (iii) me and my family loves butter cakes, its like OUR cake, and no other cake can even come close.

Besides, cooking and baking (i) brings me back from the brink of insanity, (ii) gives me the feeling of being control and (iii) offers instant gratification, so I managed to squeeze in some simple stuffs such as The Best Hot Chocolate and The Best Chicken Kebabs when I was too overwhelmed with work.

I am late. I am really, really late and really, really busy. Everyone baked their Almond-Crusted Butter Cake and the feedback was wonderful. I don't want to be left behind and definitely felt incomplete without joining, so I did it today. The recipe for Lou Seibbert Pappas' Almond-Crusted Butter Cake is with Emily, the host for this round of THB bake.

When I mixed the batter, I was shocked to find that it was so thick! I could hardly move the spatula around. So when I mixed the flour, I stopped short at 2 cups because it was just too unnaturally thick, and I felt uneasy.  That was a reduction of almost 1/3 amount of flour the original recipe asked for. I don't know if I am doing it wrong somewhere. As for the amount of sugar, I followed the fellow THB's suggestion of using around 140 grams. I doubt if it would turn out alright, I had a lot of misgivings as I put it into the preheated oven. 

The cake was baked in a rather low temperature, and it actually took sometime before it rises, and it didn't rise as much as I thought it should. Surprisingly, even with the amount of butter, the resulting cake was slightly towards the drier side, with dense and small crumbs. Just like the rest of the THB members' comments, it was unusual, and nothing like the butter cakes that we are used to. I still prefer my version of 4 Ingredients Butter Cake, but I can imagine that this butter cake appeals to those who are afraid of greasy cakes.

Looks like I have cake to eat for the next few days while slaving in from of the computer!