In this tasty little one-bite French dessert, juicy black cherry halves add a little freshness to a very moist, gluten-free almond cake. The cherry-almond thumbprints are super easy and quick to make and are just as good at a barbecue, as part of a brunch spread or for afternoon tea.
And here's a bonus: you can use the recipe for the almond flour batter to make a lovely, moist almond loaf cake with sprinkled sliced almonds on top. Simply cook it a little longer until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cherry-Almond Thumbprints (Gluten-Free)
Servings: Makes about 32 dessert bites
Active time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Need: Mini muffin molds/tins
5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
½ cup (120 g) granulated sugar
1 ½ cups (150 g) almond flour
16-18 large black cherries, rinsed and dried
3-4 tablespoons sliced almonds (thin)
Preheat oven to 350° F (175°C). Lightly spray the mini muffin molds with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small bowl, melt the butter and set aside to bring it to room temperature. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is frothy (about 1 ½ minutes). Whisk in the almond flour. Add the butter and whisk until you get a smooth batter. Don’t worry if the batter is slightly grainy from the almond flour.
Use a spoon to fill the mini muffin molds 3/4 of the way full with the batter.
Select enough clean cherries so there is half a cherry per mini muffin. For example, if your batter fills 32 mini muffins, cut 16 cherries in half. Remove the stems, cut the cherries in half top to bottom and remove the pits (see photo).
Gently place half a cherry in the middle of each batter-filled mold. Sprinkle some sliced almonds around the cherry halves.
Set in the middle of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until they have risen and are golden brown on top. Let cool completely before removing from the tins. Serve at room temperature. These dessert bites can be made up to 2 days ahead of serving and stored in an airtight container.
And bon appétit!
