Page 93 Tiny Cherry and Almond Tea Cakes

"Make the most of fresh cherry season by baking the little stone fruits right into charming tea cakes. The cakes made with ground almonds, brown butter, and egg whites, are similar to financiers, which are small, springy brick-shaped cakes named for their resemblance to gold bullion. These cakes are baked with the pits left inside the cherries (be sure to warn guests before serving). Or, if you prefer, remove the pits before baking, leaving the stems intact." - Martha

Aren't these just the cutest little treats? I liked this recipe alot for many reasons. 1 - It only made a small amount of mini cupcakes, 30, and you can half this recipe like I did so just to make enough for breakfast, no left-overs. 2- The recipe has liquor in it...how haute cuisine! I love anything with liqour in it; it's an excuse that I don't partake very often, so why not? 3 - I love dark, sweet cherries during the summer. When I was young we used to pick cherries in my grandfather's backyard and I have such grand memories of good times with my sisters and parents there.

I definitely pitted my cherries before I baked up these delightful cakes. After having cracked a tooth earlier in life, I did not want to take the chance on doing it again or heaven-forbid having one of my children crack their teeth on a pit because of me. (Also, it gave me the opportunity to use my cherry-pitter!) I really can't believe the original recipe calls for leaving them in! For my substitutions, I used walnuts instead of almonds; I didn't think I could do without any nutmeat because the batter would end up too runny but I didn't have any almonds in the house. So I added 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to make up for the absence of the nut. And then since I didn't have any Kirsch brandy, I used my fall-back Amaretto instead. Seemed to make as much sence as the Kirsch in my opinion. Also, since I cut the recipe in half, I didn't think that splitting 5 egg whites would be fitting so I simply used 2 full eggs in the batter.

I had no problem with the way things mixed up; the batter looked good and tasted great. And I also had no problems with the baking of the teacakes so I guess it all worked out just right. These are so tasty; I love the flavor of the cherries and almonds together, always have. However, they turned out a bit darker than I would have wanted. I baked them in a timed oven and didn't return to take them out until a hour later. They are very tender inside, but the extra time in a warm oven got them caramel colored instead of a light golden tone. Next time, I'll stay home while they bake...it's only for 12 minutes!