French Almond Cake with Berries and Cream

We had this tasty confection for dessert on Easter. Mmmmmm...mmm! It was really good. A very nice combination of flavors here....but how can you go wrong when berries, almonds and cream are involved? :) The leftovers (if there are any) also make a great breakfast the following day. Or, uh, so I've heard. hee hee.
(We couldn't find raspberries anywhere so we just doubled the blackberries.)

French Almond Cake with Berries and Cream

Almond Cake:
4 ounces almond paste
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3 large eggs
1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Cream Cheese Topping:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. confectioner's sugar
1/2 C. heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp almond extract

Sweetened Berries:
1/2 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 C. raspberries
1 C. blackberries
2 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
1/4 C. seedless raspberry jam

Prepare the almond cake: Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour 9-inch round non-stick cake pan. Crumble almond paste into food processor fitted with blade attachment. Add granulated sugar and pulse until almond paste is finely ground. Add butter and process until smooth. Add eggs and process until combined, occasionally stopping processor and scraping down sides of bowl. Add flour, baking powder and salt, and process until blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread out evenly.
Bake 20 minutes or until cake is browned and top springs back when lightly pressed with finger. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes then invert pan onto cooling rack to remove cake. Cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare cream cheese topping:
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese at low speed until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and beat on low speed until blended. Add cream and extract; increase blender speed to high and beat mixture until thick and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Prepare sweetened berries:
In a large bowl, combine berries with confectioner's sugar. Toss gently to combine. Let stand 10 minutes to allow sugar to dissolve and flavors to blend.
Place cake on serving plate. Spread jam on top of cake to 1/2 inch from edge. Spoon cream topping over jam, spreading to cover. Spread berry mixture over cream. Serve immediately.


Recipe from Good Housekeeping