I am looking for a recipe for Entenmann's Almond Squares (or
reasonable facsimile).  The Entenmann's Company made this product
approximately 20 years ago but I believe they were discontinued due to
the cost of the ingredients.  I have already checked with several
copycat recipe sites with no luck.  I have also checked with the
Entenmann’s company and with Weston Bakeries Inc. (George Weston
Bakeries, Inc.) who owns Entenmann’s, also, with no luck. Any
information would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you in advance!

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Request for Question Clarification by nellie_bly-ga on 08 Jan 2003 11:08 PST

Could you please describe the almond squares. 
 Were they more like a cookie, a cake, or a roll?  Did they include
almond paste in some form? Were there other distinctive ingredients or
flavors? Was there an icing or other coating?  What size were they?

Any thing you can remember will help the search.

Thanks.

Nellie Bly
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by dinosaurbry-ga on 08 Jan 2003 13:26 PST

Dear Nellie bly-ga,
Here is a description of the Almond Squares: 
Layers from bottom to top:
1. Pastry or cookie-like bottom
2. Thin raspberry layer
3. Almond marzipan layer
4. Moist white cake layer 
5. Sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar.
They were a very moist, not too sweet, solid, heavy cake that was cut
into squares, like petit fours.  I hope that helps!  Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by nellie_bly-ga on 08 Jan 2003 16:51 PST

Well  dinosaurbry, I've been all over the Internet and through several
shelves of cookbooks and made a few phone calls, but the Entenmann's
recipe remains a secret.

I have, however, some thoughts on your elusive delicacy. It sounds
like a variation of a Jewish (sour cream) coffee cake. This makes
sense given the Entenmann's background.  I have the following recipes
which I think might come close to the experience
See what you think:

The one that sounds most like what you described (although sort of
upside down) is this one:
Raspberry Marzipan Coffee Cake
http://www.lanierbb.com/recipes/data/ot201.html


This one from my personal recipes lacks the marzipan-like layer but
has a cream cheese one, instead.

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake
Ingredients
     
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons low-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg


3 ounces block-style cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg white
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1/3 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

 Directions
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.
Combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a
pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Reserve 1/2 cup flour mixture for topping; set aside.

Combine remaining flour mixture, baking powder, and baking soda, and
add sour cream, milk, extracts, and egg. Beat at medium speed of a
mixer until blended. Spoon the batter into an 8-inch round cake pan
coated with butter.

Combine cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar, and egg; beat at medium
speed until blended. Spread evenly over batter; dot with preserves.
Top with raspberries. Combine the reserved 1/2 cup flour mixture and
almonds. Sprinkle crumb mixture over raspberries. Bake at 350 degrees
for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in
center. Cool on a wire rack.

And here are a couple of other recipe links that aren't really close
but sound awfully good.

Raspberry almond squares
http://cssvc.recipes.compuserve.com/pls/details.jsp?searchString=cookies&firstOffset=70

Raspberry Almond Coffeecake
http://cake.allrecipes.com/AZ/RaspberryAlmondCoff.asp

Search strategy: almond raspberry cake; almond raspberry jewish;
almond raspberry entenmann's; almond raspberry squares; almond
raspberry
Searches at Epicurious and several other recipe sites.

If you find these recipes useful and are willing to accept them as an
"answer" please respond in the affirmative to this Request for
Clarification.

In any case, I'm sorry I couldn't find the real thing but I hope you
enjoy trying the other recipes.

Nellie Bly
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by dinosaurbry-ga on 11 Jan 2003 14:26 PST

Dear Nellie bly-ga,

Thank you for the time you have spent researching for me.  I
appreciate your effort.  However, I am really looking for a closer
approximation of The Entenmann's Almond squares recipe.

Not exactly the same, but close, is Bakewell Tart, a traditional cake
from Bakewell, Derbyshire, England

Here is one recipe http://www.greenchronicle.com/regional_recipes/bakewell_tart.htm

and here is another, which is far less authentic, but looks very like
your description http://gourmet.ninemsn.com.au/gourmettraveller/recipes/db/gourmettraveller/47/4752.asp

I too am looking for this wonderful receipe. About 2 years ago I
called Best Foods/Entenmanns and said while the receipe is protected
they still continue to make almond squares usually aroung Christmas.
g0ood Luck

Many years ago I worked for a bakery that manufactured Entenmann's
Almond Squares under contract. I may have the recipe on some very old
computer disks, I'll check. What I remember of it involved a bottom
heavy almond-flavored pastry topped with a layer of raspberry compote,
then a light cake layer and topped with powdered sugar. It had some
strange ingredients, though...the name (it had a Z in it) of the
almond flavor escapes me, but it was so caustic somebody spilled a
gallon jug of it and it ate up the asphalt tile on the floor. They
used a miniscule amount of this stuff, like six ounces in a 500lb
batch of the almond dough. The powdered sugar was strange too, the
individual bits of sugar were coated with oil so as to make them
moisture-proof, it could sit on top of a moist cake or cookie and look
fresh for a week. Try that with the powdered sugar in your pantry!