You don’t have to frost your cake.
Instead you can add a crunchy top made of almonds and egg white. Add it before it goes in the oven and it comes out all crunchy and delightful.
It’s quick, easy, and simple—better, more memorable, than frosting and a whole bunch easier. People will like it a whole bunch better than most frostings.
The cake at the top is a blueberry almond cake. It’s simply our Vanilla Bean Cake with fresh or frozen blueberries and an almond crunch top. When it comes out of the oven, it’s done.
The layer cake—that’s made with a Vanilla Bean Cake mix also. Between the two layers are slices of fresh peaches and a layer of Bavarian cream. We serve it with caramel whipped cream. It’s incredibly good, you don’t have to be a pro, and it’s much quicker than making frosting and then frosting the cake.
How do you make the crunch?
It’s an egg white. That’s what “glues” the sliced almonds together and becomes crunchy in the oven.
It’s really simple.
Here is a recipe to make enough almond crunch for a 9×13-inch sheet cake:
- 1-1/4 cups of sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg white.
Mix the sugar and egg white together until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Fold in the sliced almonds. Spoon the mixture over the batter and bake per the cake directions.
It’s designed for cakes and cupcakes. But it’s perfect for coffeecakes. It’s delightful on muffins. Look at these blueberry crunch muffins.
Serving Suggestions
- We always serve the Blueberry Crunch cake with a Lemon Sauce. Blueberry and lemon is a classic combination. The lemon sauce is spot-on lemon pie flavor, lemon curd. We have taken this to a church supper several times. It’s the first dessert gone.
- When peach season arrives, this is our “go to” dessert. We make a peach shortcake—a crunch cake, load it with fresh peaches, and top it with caramel whipped cream.
- I haven’t found a muffin that isn’t better with a crunch topping. If you drizzle it with lemon or caramel syrup, it’s a dessert.
- A spice cake with a crunch topping and drizzled with a spiced pear syrup and sauce is delightful.
