Almond Cake ala 'David'

This almond cake is wonderful. I mean, it's really really good! I made it last weekend for a house guest and loved it the first night although it seemed to get better the longer it sat. Four days later I was still looking forward to my slice after dinner and singing its praises. This is the same recipe that David Lebovitz recently posted on his blog. It's perfect as is so I didn't see any reason to make many changes, other than adapting to gluten-free, of course!

I was so busy enjoying the cake that I didn't bother to take any photos, hence the image above. I guess you'll just have to reference photos on DL's site for now and I'll post some next time I make this, which I have a feeling will be quite soon.

A couple of things to note.... 1) It's typical for this cake to fall a bit in the center when it cools. All those eggs cause it to souffle up a bit in the oven and then sink as it cools down. Don't worry, you won't notice when it's sliced and a sprinkling of powdered fixes many wrongs when dusted over top. 2) It's best to make this (as suggested by David) in a food processor so you can chop the almond paste very fine.

Serve this with berries & lightly whipped cream.

Enjoy!!

Almond Cake:

Yields 1, 10" cake (about 12 slices)

1 1/3 cups sugar

7 ounces almond paste (1 tube of Odense brand)

3/4 cup, plus 1/4 cup blanched almond flour

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp Amaretto (or almond flavored liqueur or almond extract)

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10" springform pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.

2) In the bowl of a food processor, grind the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt.

4) Once the almond paste is completely ground, add the cubes of butter and the vanilla and Amaretto. Process until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.

5) Add the eggs one at a time, processing a bit before the next addition. You many want to scrape down the sides of the bowl while doing this.

6) Add half the flour mixture and pulse the machine a few times, then add the rest, pulsing the machine until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, but DO NOT OVERMIX.

7) Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the cake for about 1 hour, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.

8) Remove the cake from the oven and loosen the sides with a small spatula or sharp knife if needed. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.

9) Once cool, tap the cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper and invert the cake onto a serving plate (bottom is now facing up). Serve with berries and lightly whipped cream and dusted with powdered sugar. The cake stores well, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days.