This week at school we had a whole day devoted to cake. We each made a 3 layer vanilla cake that was filled with lemon curd and slathered with buttercream frosting. I knew in the back of my mind that frosting had a lot of butter in it, but I never really realized how much. It is literally ALL butter (bound with sugar and a few egg whites). There is close to a pound of butter in the icing for one cake! Yikes. But it is delicious and gratefully is only served on special occasions. After making the icing from scratch, we had to decorate our cakes. This was one of the most frustrating experiences. It is so hard to get the frosting in an even layer on the cake and once it starts to get warm - forget about it. I now have the utmost respect for professional cake decorators. It is hard work! In addition to our fancy layer cake, we made another cake that I would actually make again. It was a Lemon Almond Cake and boy was it good. This cake is pretty straightforward, just mix the ingredients, pour into a pan and bake. No icing required. The only suggested garnish is a little limoncello liqueur and powdered sugar on top. Try this next time you have to bring a dessert to a friend's house. It is rich and dense and lemony and moist. I absolutely love it so much that I just had to throw half away because I couldn't stop eating it. According to my instructor, it can last for weeks if refrigerated. That was what I was afraid of!
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Lemon Almond Cake Ingredients: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup olive oil 3/4 cup granulated sugar 12 oz almond paste, cut into pieces (you should be able to find this in a tube at Whole Foods) grated zest of 3 lemons 5 large eggs 1/2 cup cake flour (do not use all purpose!) 1 teaspoon baking powder 3-4 tablespoons Limoncello (optional) Powdered sugar for dusting (optional) Instructions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9" cake pan liberally on the bottom and sides. Trace the pan on parchment paper and cut out a round circle that will fit in the bottom of the pan. This helps the cake come out more easily. Dust the edges of the pan with flour. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil and sugar until fluffy - this should take 3-5 minutes on medium speed. Add the almond paste and lemon zest and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time to the batter while the mixer is on. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed so all the eggs get incorporated. Turn off the mixer and remove the paddle. Scrape off any batter. Fold in the flour and baking powder with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Unmold onto a plate and let cool completely. Gradually brush the lemon liqueur over the top of the cake slowly so it sinks in completely. The cake can be made a day in advance; wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar. |
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