When your friend gives you a recipe for flourless almond lemon cake, and another friend give you more Meyer lemons, and your bees gives you honey…well, heck, it’s time to eat cake!
I adapted this recipe from Milk Street’s Almond Cake with Citrus Bay Syrup and my friend Faye’s Flourless Almond Lemon Cake recipes. The result is something I absolutely love…it is super light, moist, AND gluten free! This cake can be served with or without the syrup, however, the hint of rosemary with the citrus is an unexpected and delicious surprise.
This recipe uses Meyer lemons which are sweeter and tend to be less tart than other lemons. If you don’t have Meyer lemons on hand, you can substitute other lemons, but try to stay on the less tart side -- you can balance out the tartness with some orange or tangerine juice. I’ve also used this syrup with Bay leaf instead of Rosemary, and it’s also delicious!
Have fun with this recipe – it’s incredibly simple and flexible – and a crowd-pleaser!
What you will need:
For the cake:
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/3 cup Honey (you can also substitute sugar)
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup sliced almonds
8” round pan.
For the syrup:
1/8 honey (you can also substitute sugar)
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (ideally, if not available, Eureka or other sweet lemon will work)
2 tablespoons orange or tangerine juice (if you are using Meyer lemons, you can substitute the same amount of Meyer lemon juice for the orange or tangerine juice—all other lemons should have the orange or tangerine juice to balance out the sweetness and acidity)
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
Let’s get baking!
For the cake:
Heat oven to 350F degrees with the rack in the middle position.
Butter the bottom and sides on an 8” round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper that has been cut into a circle to fit snugly on the bottom of the pan, then butter the parchment. Tip: if you crumple the parchment paper first, it’s easier to lay down in the pan.
Separate the egg yolks and white, placing egg yolks in a medium bowl, and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Whisk egg yolks with honey then add the lemon zest, then add lemon juice and almond flour and stir to combine.
For the egg whites, starting on low speed and increasing to medium-high on the mixer, beat the egg whites until medium peaks (do not overbeat, otherwise you will have very firm meringue).
Add egg whites to flour mixture and gently fold until no streaks of flour mixture remain.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
Bake for 30 minutes until cake is golden on top.
Meanwhile, make the syrup.
In a small saucepan over medium, combine all ingredients. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the honey dissolves. Remove from heat and let the syrup steep until needed.
When the cake is done, place cake on a rack to cool, and return the syrup to a simmer over medium heat.
Let’s glaze the cake:
Use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes all over the cake’s surface. Brush all of the hot syrup evenly onto the hot cake. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack until barely warm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
Time to serve it up:
Lightly butter a sheet of parchment paper slightly larger than the baking pan, then place it on the cake buttered side down. Invert a large plate or cutting board on top of the parchment, then invert the plate and cake pan together. Lift off the pan and remove the parchment round on the bottom of the cake. Then, re-invert the cake onto a serving platter and let cool completely.
Tip: don’t invert the cake without the buttered parchment. The cake’s exterior is tacky and will easily stick to other surfaces, peeling off the crust and the almonds. Use parchment for the best presentation.
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