Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a rich, close-grained almond cake base built on the creaming method: butter and caster sugar whipped pale, whole eggs beaten in a little at a time, then ground almonds and flour folded through. The almond meal keeps it moist and slightly dense, so it eats more like a baked almond pudding than a light sponge, with a soft buttery crumb and a fresh lift of lemon zest.
It is a useful base to have in the repertoire because it holds its shape and does not go soggy. Cut it into layers under mousse or cream, use it as the bottom of a torte, bake it in a slab and cut discs or bars from it, or serve it plainly with fruit and cream. It also keeps well, and the flavour improves a day after baking.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
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Weight Per Unit: 1603
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: 24 cm round tin, about 5 cm high
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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360 |
12.7 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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room temperature |
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B
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360 |
12.7 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
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C
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300 |
10.6 ounces
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Almond Meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made both with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal than wheat flour.
It is used in pastry and confectionery – in the manufacture of almond macarons and other sweet pastries, in cake and pie filling, such as Sachertorte and is one of the two main ingredients of marzipan and almond paste. In France, almond meal is an important ingredient in frangipane, the filling of traditional galette des Rois cake.
Almond meal has recently become important in baking items for those on low carbohydrate diets. It adds moistness and a rich nutty taste to baked goods. Items baked with almond meal tend to be calorie-dense.
ground almonds
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D
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60 |
2.1 ounces
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Cake Flour
Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product.
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sifted |
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E
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360 |
7.2 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature |
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F
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10 |
0.4 ounce
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Lemon Zest
Lemon zest is the thin, brightly coloured outer layer of the lemon skin, removed with a fine grater or zester without taking the bitter white pith underneath. It holds the fruit's aromatic oils and gives a fresh citrus lift to batters and creams.
fresh
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finely grated |
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G
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2 |
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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H
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1 |
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Salt
Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
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I
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150 |
5.3 ounces
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Self-Raising Flour
Self-rising or self-raising flour is white flour that is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. Self-rising flour is typically composed of the following ratio: 1 cup (100 g) flour, 1 1⁄2 teaspoons (3 g) baking powder, a pinch to 1⁄2 teaspoon (1 g or less) salt.
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sifted |
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1603
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Recipe Calculator Tool
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Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease a 24 cm round tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. |
Oven fully up to temperature before the batter is mixed |
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2 |
Prepare |
Have A and E (butter and whole egg) at room temperature, and sift D and I (cake flour and self-raising flour) together into a bowl. |
Cold butter or eggs will cause the batter to curdle |
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3 |
Cream |
Whip A, B, F and G (butter, caster sugar, lemon zest and vanilla essence) together in a mixer. |
Pale, light and creamy |
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4 |
Add |
Beat in E (whole egg) a little at a time, scraping the bowl between additions, and add H (salt) with the last of the egg. |
Smooth and glossy, not split |
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5 |
Fold |
Fold in C (almond meal), then fold through the sifted D and I (cake flour and self-raising flour). |
Just combined, no dry flour showing |
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6 |
Fill |
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface with a palette knife. |
Even thickness right to the edges |
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7 |
Bake |
Bake at 170°C (340°F) for about 45 to 55 minutes. |
Golden, springs back when pressed and a skewer comes out clean |
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8 |
Cool |
Rest in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper. |
Cool completely before cutting or layering |
Important Notes
This batch makes about 1,600 g of batter, enough for one deep 24 cm round tin or two shallower 20 cm tins. If you divide it between two smaller tins, start checking at about 30 minutes. Because of the high almond content the base stays moist for several days; wrap it well once cold and keep it at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze it whole or in layers for up to two months. Chill or part-freeze the cooled cake before slicing it into layers — it cuts much more cleanly. The spreadsheet carried no method notes or tips, so the steps and baking times here are written to suit a home oven.
Tools & Arrangements
Electric mixer with paddle, sieve, mixing bowls, spatula, digital scales, fine grater or zester, 24 cm round cake tin, baking paper, palette knife, skewer, cooling rack
