Happy first birthday to The Hungarian Housewife! Where has the time gone? I can’t believe that it was a year ago today that I took the plunge and started this little spot on the web.  What a busy year it has been! The blog has been a bit neglected at times but I’m still here and I want to thank all of you that have stuck by and kept coming back for more. Let’s hope that this next year will give us lots of time to bake and play around in the kitchen. The kids are getting bigger and have been getting more and more involved in my little kitchen experiments and I look forward to documenting their growth in the kitchen and sharing some of that with you….

Anyhow… seeing as though it is our birthday over here and you can’t very well have a birthday without cake, I bring you a quick and easy cake that you can throw together in just a few minutes. It is an original recipe that I made on a whim one Sunday afternoon and it was so simple and so delicious that I have to share. So, here is my recipe for an Almond Poppy Seed Cake with a simple Almond Glaze (and did I mention that it is gluten-free?):

Gluten Free Almond Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon pure almond extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups Pamela’s Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter an 8×8 inch square cake pan and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar.
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time and mix until just combined.
5. Mix in 1 cup of the Pamela’s Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix and stir to combine.
6. Add buttermilk and extracts and mix in the remaining cup of flour.
7. Bake 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Immediately top with almond glaze (see recipe below).

Almond Glaze

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon milk (1% or higher)
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with a whisk or hand mixer until there are no lumps.
2. Spread evenly over cake and enjoy.