Almond Cake (Torta di Mandorle)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 23, 2009
Yield
serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This cake has a dense, pound cake-like texture and tastes great when served with fresh berries and whipped cream or lightly sweetened mascarpone. Do not substitute low-fat or nonfat milk for the whole milk. Blanched almonds are almonds without their skin. Be careful not to overtoast the almonds or the cake will have a dry, crumbly texture. You can substitute 14 ounces (about 3 cups) whole blanched almonds for the slivered; increase their oven toasting time to 11 minutes and their processing time to 30 seconds in step 2.
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Spread the almonds out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until very lightly toasted and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes (do not overtoast); cool completely. Process the almonds, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the salt in a food processor until very finely ground, with a texture that resembles flour, 10 to 15 seconds. Add the flour and baking powder and pulse to incorporate, about 5 pulses; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating briefly after each addition to incorporate, about 1 minute. Add the ground almond mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the milk and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds more.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the cake is puffed and golden on top and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and let the cake cool to room temperature, about 2 hours before removing the cake pan bottom. (The fully cooled cake can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let the cake thaw completely at room temperature, 2 to 4 hours, then serve warm.)
- The cake can be served at room temperature or warm. To serve warm, lay the cake on a baking sheet and warm in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Yield
serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
For our moist and flavorful almond cake recipe, we liked grinding our own almonds in a food processor along with some sugar to prevent the almonds from turning into a paste. Though many almond cake recipes called only for ground almonds and no flour at all, we determined that some flour (cake flour, in particular) was a good thing—without it, the cake was extremely heavy, but too much and the cake became too light and bland.
Before You Begin
This cake has a dense, pound cake-like texture and tastes great when served with fresh berries and whipped cream or lightly sweetened mascarpone. Do not substitute low-fat or nonfat milk for the whole milk. Blanched almonds are almonds without their skin. Be careful not to overtoast the almonds or the cake will have a dry, crumbly texture. You can substitute 14 ounces (about 3 cups) whole blanched almonds for the slivered; increase their oven toasting time to 11 minutes and their processing time to 30 seconds in step 2.
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Spread the almonds out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until very lightly toasted and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes (do not overtoast); cool completely. Process the almonds, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the salt in a food processor until very finely ground, with a texture that resembles flour, 10 to 15 seconds. Add the flour and baking powder and pulse to incorporate, about 5 pulses; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating briefly after each addition to incorporate, about 1 minute. Add the ground almond mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the milk and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds more.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the cake is puffed and golden on top and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and let the cake cool to room temperature, about 2 hours before removing the cake pan bottom. (The fully cooled cake can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let the cake thaw completely at room temperature, 2 to 4 hours, then serve warm.)
- The cake can be served at room temperature or warm. To serve warm, lay the cake on a baking sheet and warm in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
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