Almighty Almond Cake

  • If you like almonds, then you have totally found your match.
    If you don’t mind almonds, then you just might start to love them after a piece of this cake.
    If you hate almonds or if you know you’ll go into anaphylactic shock and die after eating almonds, then this might not be the ideal recipe for you.  (Wait! Click here to make the magnificent Chocolate Mocha Cake with Fudgy Frosting instead… it’s almond-free!)

    Anyway, now that the almond-hating freaks have moved on, let’s focus on the almightiness of this cake.

    Made for Kate, who happens to love almond paste (which happens to be chock-full of wheat… who knew?), this recipe takes almond to the extreme (but not in an “ew, there’s too much almond in this cake” kind of way).  The almond paste sets the serious almond tone, and allows for a moist texture.  Almond extract reinforces the point, but subtly so.  Lightly toasted almonds on top of the finished beauty signal what’s in store for the eater… “yes, I am an almond, and the cake beneath me is almond, too.  I don’t fool around.”.

    I provided a few thoughts on how to jazz this recipe up in the Tips section below, if you feel you need a frosting or another flavor to get you going- but additional flavors are a bit superfluous in this cake… kind of like lipliner- you could use it, but it just might be too much.  I think this cake is a stand alone winner.  Especially on day 2, believe it or not.

     

    Adapted from David Lebovitz’s recipe…

    7 oz. almond paste (one tube sold at the grocery store)

    1 1/3 cups sugar

    1 cup flour (divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup portions)

    1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature & cut into cubes

    2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (optional)

    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    1 teaspoon salt

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    1 teaspoon almond extract

    6 eggs, room temperature

    confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional garnish)

    1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional garnish)

    1. Preheat oven to 325° and grease a 9″ cake pan (use non-stick spray or butter, then dust with flour and tap the pan to remove excess).
    2. In a small bowl, whisk 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
    3. In a food processor, combine almond paste, sugar, and remaining 1/4 cup of flour for 2 minutes (until almond paste is totally broken up and mixture looks like fine grains of sand).
    4. Add butter cubes, cream cheese (if using), vanilla and almond extracts to almond mixture in food processor, and process until well mixed (another 2 minutes, scraping batter from sides of bowl at least once throughout).  Mixture should look smooth and fluffy.
    5. Add eggs one at a time to food processor, mixing for 10 seconds between each addition, and scraping bowl throughout.
    6. Add half of the flour mixture to the food processor and pulse until incorporated.  Add remaining half and pulse again until just incorporated… be careful not to over mix.
    7. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 60 – 65 minutes, until a cake tester comes out mostly clean of crumbs.  Top will have a nice deep brown color.
    8. Run the edge of a knife around the sides of the pan, loosening the cake so that it will be easier to remove after it cools.  Allow pan to cool on a rack, remove from pan and place on a plate (if you choose), then sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar &/or toasted almonds (optional!) before serving.

    Tips:

    • No food processor?  I’m sorry- that must make your life difficult, especially when you want to make pie pastry or Cornmeal Cheddar Chipotle Biscuits.  But life must go on.  So use a stand mixer to get the almond paste separated- for a very long time, mind you, but baking is always time well spent.  (If you tell me that you don’t have a stand mixer, then I hope you at least have a hand mixer- and if not, then I just don’t know what to say.  Is your birthday coming up any time soon, so you can ask for one?  I guess you could use a pastry cutter to smoosh the heck out of the almond paste into the sugar and flour to reach that sandy consistency, perhaps while watching a [really long] movie?)  Note: use almond paste, not marzipan.
    • Cream cheese- really?  No, not really.  I used it because the official recipe asked for 8 oz. of almond paste, and the tube I bought was 7 oz.  (Argh.)  So I went to the fridge, found a couple of extra ounces of cream cheese, and thought “oh yes”.  So if you don’t have, it won’t ruin the recipe.  (And if you DO happen to have almond paste up the wazoo, then use 8 oz.)
    • Be careful not to cheat on the time spent mixing the butter in the food processor… air needs to poof up into the mixture to help the cake do what it needs to do (rise, be wonderful, etc.).
    • Parchment paper at bottom of pan- use a parchment round in the cake pan after greasing it- it will ensure an easy removal.  If you don’t have a parchment round, then cut a round out of a bigger piece of parchment paper.
    • Fillings? Garnish?  I like a simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar, BUT you can totally get creative here.  Toasted almonds work when sprinkled over top, of course.  How about splitting the cake in 2 layers and spreading raspberry jam between them?  Or make a chocolate frosting and fill between layers or just cover the top… Another idea: how about stirring 1/2 cup of dried cranberries into the batter before pouring into the pan?  Or swirl a bit of raspberry or apricot jam into the batter (spoon blobs into the batter then use the tip of a sharp knife to spread the jam a bit).  Serve with a good vanilla ice cream on the side, or maybe a raspberry sorbet… or even whipped cream.  So… many… options…
    • Toasting almonds is easy- just spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and throw in the oven with the cake.  After about 6-8 minutes the almonds should be light brown and fragrant- remove!  (Be careful to watch the nuts, as they do burn before you know it.)
    • Storage: this tastes yummier on day 2, and 3, so hold on and keep tightly wrapped at room temperature.  Freeze for a few months, too, if you want- it’s your call.
    • Enjoy!

     

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    June 27th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: ,

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