Almond Cake Trifle with Roasted Cherries

Ingredients

• 7 ounces almond paste 
• 1.5 teaspoons double-acting baking powder 
• 1 cup cake flour 
• 3 pounds cherries frozen thawed
• 3  cinnamon sticks 
• 6 tablespoons cognac 
• 6 large eggs at room temperature
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 1.5 cups sugar divided
• 1.3 cups butter unsalted softened
• 1  vanilla pod split
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract divided
• 1 pint whipping cream 
• 0.5 cup almonds whole toasted coarsely chopped

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• oven
• whisk
• hand mixer
• roasting pan
• stand mixer
• kugelhopf pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 35
2. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.
3. Sift together first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Process almond paste and 1 1/4 cups sugar in a food processor until blended. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed 1 minute.
4. Add sugar mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down sides. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until blended.
5. Pour into prepared Bundt pan, and bake 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into cake center comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven, and let cool.
7. Toss cherries with Cognac, cinnamon sticks, 3 teaspoons vanilla, 3 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla bean halves in a bowl; pour into a roasting pan. Increase heat to 425, and bake cherry mixture 10 minutes.
8. Place vanilla bean halves and cinnamon sticks in a small bowl, and let cool. Strain cherries, and reserve all cooking liquid.
9. Scrape vanilla beans with a spoon, and place seeds in bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer.
10. Add whipping cream. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, add cardamom, if desired, and whisk until stiff peaks form.
11. Assemble trifle in 16 (10-ounce) individual glasses. Slice cake into 3/4-inch pieces.
12. Layer cake pieces, 1 1/2 teaspoons cherry liquid, cherries, and 3 tablespoons cream; repeat layers, ending with 1 tablespoon cream. Chill 2 hours, sprinkle with almonds, and serve.
13. *To bring eggs to room temperature safely, remove from refrigerator and place in a bowl for 30 minutes.