The first time I made this, I failed miserably.

I had gotten the recipe from a cookbook, and it just did not turn out. I’m not going to deny that part of the reason is my occasional inability to follow instructions. But the other part of the reason is that it was not a great recipe.

So I went to Pinterest (obviously) and was on the hunt for an Almond Pound Cake recipe. I knew I wanted to use a pound cake base because (even though I’ve technically never made a pound cake) I wanted something somewhat dense, but still rich and moist. I wanted beautiful, luscious slices of cake.

I found a great base recipe, but I wanted to lighten it up (I mean, after the Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Blondies and the Apple Crisp Cinnamon Buns and the Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies….) . I used low fat Greek yogurt in place of the cream cheese (for less fat and a boost of protein!). I added some almond extract, and some sliced almonds in the pan before adding the batter.

And then I crossed my fingers.

It may or may not have been the finger crossing, but the cake came out of the oven perfectly moist and luscious (it’s just the word that comes to mind with a pound cake, right?).

One of the best parts of this Almond Pound Cake is the single whole almond baked inside. After you pour the batter into the pan, you press in one whole almond. You serve it up at your New Years party, and whoever gets the slice with the whole almond inside will have one year good luck!

I mean, not really. But it is so fun, right?

As I was putting this cake into the oven, I actually had forgotten to put the almond in. I could have just let it bake, and you really would never know if there was one whole almond or not. But the anticipation of who will get the almond is just too much fun — I couldn’t resist! So I quickly pulled it out of the oven and slid the almond into the batter.

We haven’t gotten that far into the cake yet (there are only 2 of us who eat cake!), so I can’t even tell you if it’s going to be me or not

I think this is such a fun idea to do with any dessert, even cupcakes! Pop a whole almond in one and see where it turns up. And a healthier but still delicious dessert is the perfect way to kick off a New Year, don’t you think?

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New Years Almond Pound Cake (Good Luck Cake)

A rich, moist Almond Pound Cake that’s made better for you with yogurt and reduced sugar! A fun New Years dessert with one whole almond baked in — whoever gets the almond will have one year good luck!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 16 slices

Calories 337cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup butter room temperature
• 1 cup low fat plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Optional: whipped cream to serve

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease a bundt pan well with non stick spray. Sprinkle slivered almonds in the bottom and on the sides of the bundt pan (you can use the spray to keep the almonds on the sides if you want). Set aside.
• In a large bowl with an electric or stand mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy (I used my whisk attachment for the whole recipe, but you can use a regular beater too). Add yogurt and beat until combined. Add the sugar and beat until combined.
• With the mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Add extracts and beat until combined.
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed just until combined. Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped cream and toasted almonds if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 337cal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 167mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 444IU | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg

Almond Pound Cake recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

The post New Years Almond Pound Cake (Good Luck Cake) appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.