Loading ...Almond Cake
by Alice Waters with Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Streiff
from The Art of Simple Food
(Clarkson Potter, 2007)
Makes one 9-inch round cake
Two of Alice Waters’s basic rules are “cook simply” and “eat seasonally.” There’s nothing complicated about this almond cake, and it can be topped with your favorite in-season fruit. You’re two for two. If you buy your eggs from local “producers whose practices are organic, humane, and environmentally sound,” it’s even better. —Linda Avery
convert Ingredients
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 ounces almond paste
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 pound plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs, room temperature
Method
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. Butter a 9-by-3-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pan with flour, shaking out the excess.
3. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. Stir together the almond paste and sugar until the almond paste is in very small pieces. Or, more easily, pulverize together in a food processor or stand mixer.
5. By hand or in a stand mixer, beat the unsalted butter until lightened. Add the almond-paste-and-sugar mixture to the butter and cream together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl repeatedly to ensure that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
6. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
7. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.
8. Turn the cake out of the pan and remove the parchment paper. Serve the cake plain or with sliced fruit and whipped cream.
Variations
For a sheet cake, prepare a half-sheet pan as above, pour in the batter, smooth the top, and bake for about 40 minutes.
For 24 individual mini-cakes, bake in muffin tins that are buttered, lined on the bottom with small parchment circles, and floured as above. Fill each cup two-thirds full and bake for about 30 minutes.
To dress up this cake, spread it with a thin layer of apricot or raspberry jam. Sprinkle it with toasted sliced almonds and dust with powdered sugar.
Recipe © 2007 by Alice Waters. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.
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