It’s so easy to judge things by their appearance. Take me, for example. Folks think that, because I’m outgoing, I must be an extrovert – someone who thrives being around people all the time. You know, the life of the party. The crazy thing is, I’m just the opposite. I love good conversation, but this girl will become the biggest wallflower if she doesn’t have a connection with someone in the room. And I cherish good alone time. It refreshes me so I can start talking again.
I had a little of that good alone time this weekend in the kitchen, rummaging through recipes and wondering about possibilities. And this little “appearances are deceiving” dessert made its debut. It looks and tastes like a lovely little marriage of a muffin and a spice cake, but its main ingredient is vanilla wafers. You know, those cookies that make banana pudding perfect. Almond Nilla Cake is good all by itself, with a dollop of rich buttercream frosting, or topped with a little fresh fruit and caramel. In fact, I’m now thinking about layering thin toasted slices with bananas, Nutella, and whipped cream for a fun snack. Maybe you could come over and join me, and we could ponder how we might use this same recipe with other cookies – like maybe Nutter Butter or Lorna Doone Shortbread or even ginger snaps. It definitely sounds like a very good conversation!
Almond Nilla Cake
(makes one 10″ tube cake or 24 regular cupcakes)
12 oz. vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 chopped almonds
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla
1 t. almond extract
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar until well-blended. Add spices, wafers and almonds and mix well. Spread evenly in prepared tube cake pan or cupcake pans, and bake at 350 until done. For a tube pan, cooking time is 50-60 minutes. For cupcakes, cooking time is 15-20 minutes.
Recipe lovingly adapted from Paula’s Best Dishes.