Easy Almond Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Cooking-oil spray
• 2 1/2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) sliced almonds

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, butter, eggs, almond extract, and salt. Spray two 9-in. pie pans with cooking oil. Divide batter evenly between pans and sprinkle each with half of the almonds. Bake until light brown around edges, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
2. The Twist: Layer Them. To quickly transform these modest cakes into showpieces, use a serrated knife to carefully slice each cake horizontally into 2 even layers. Whip 4 cups heavy cream with 1 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread each bottom layer with 1 cup of the whipped cream and sprinkle with fresh raspberries. Add top layers and spread with remaining whipped cream; top with more raspberries. (If you only want to layer 1 of the cakes, just halve the amounts here.)
3. Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.