Ingredients:

• 1 cup – light Brown sugar
• 1 cup – water
• 1/3 cup – vegetable shortening
• 1 tsp – ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp – ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp – salt
• 2.25 cups- Cake Flour
• 1 tsp – baking soda
• 1.25 tsp – baking powder
• 1/2 cup – sliced Almonds
• 1 tsp -almond extract
• 1 tbsp -powdered Sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup – whole almonds, blanched (optional)

Method:

1. Combine sugar, water, shortening, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer for 5 min. Set aside to cool.
3. Sift the flour and add soda and baking powder along with the broken almonds. Mix well.
4. Gently add the wet ingredients to the dry ones. Beat well.
5. Add almond extract and mix well.
6. Pour batter into a cake tin.
7. Bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 45 mins to 1 hour.
8. If you want to decorate with the blanched almonds, then remove the pan from the oven after 30 min. decorate and then put it back in the oven for another 15 mins.
9. Care should be taken not to keep it for a long while since it could make the cake very dry.
10. Regular checks are advisable.
11. Once done, let it cool and cut into slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional).
12. Recipe courtesy: Dhivya Karthik
13. http://chefinyou.com/