Friends who can bake don't let friends eat grocery store cake. So if you are my friend and you need cake, I am here for you with this delicious Simple Rich Almond Cake.
A rich almond cake sprinkled with fine castor sugar and a cup of tea is what I will always remember my step-mom for. She loved to make this recipe and whenever we went to visit, the lovely warm smell of almond cake was what greeted us. She had been ailing this whole year, and I thought it fitting to make it now in memory of her. These fallen rose petals are from her small but colourful garden which was always thick with the smell of roses, lavender and heliotrope. To add a little something extra special I have made Rosewater and Pistachio Meringues to compliment it. This simple single layer cake is made with almond flour and is dense and moist.
Using my favourite meringue recipe I added some rosewater and then sprinkled the meringues with sliced pistachios before baking. Meringues are made on a ratio of 2 parts castor sugar to 1 part egg whites. They are that simple , but unlike other meringue recipes, I heat the sugar in the oven first to create a glossy stable meringue mixture. You can flavour meringues with almost anything, but remember that if you are adding nuts to them, rather just sprinkle a few on top as the oil in the nuts when cooked can make the meringues flatten out.
In loving memory of Dorothy Rose Vickers.
This is a shallow single layer cake which is dense and moist.
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Grease and flour a 7in cake tin. Cut a baking paper disk to cover base of the tin and grease.
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Set the oven to 175ºC/350ºF.
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Add butter to a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment soften and cream the butter.
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Add the castor sugar a tablespoon at a time beating thoroughly until the mixture is soft and light.
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Add the eggs one at a time, adding one third of the almond flour with each egg. Beat well.
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Fold in the flour and almond essence with a metal spoon and pour cake mixture into the prepared tin.
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Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked. The cake will shrink very slightly from the side of the tin.
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Turn out onto a cake rack and allow to cool completely before sprinkling with castor sugar.
- Weigh your egg whites first, starting with two eggs. Whatever that quantity is, then double the grams for your castor sugar.
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Preheat your oven to 200ºC.
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Line a baking tray with baking parchment and pour in the caster sugar and heat it in the oven for 7 minutes.
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Heating the sugar helps to create a glossy, stable mixture. It will start to crystalize slightly on the edges. Then you will know it is ready.
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Pour the egg whites into a mixer and whisk them slowly, allowing small stabilising bubbles to form, and then increase the speed until the egg whites form stiff peaks.
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Remove the sugar from of the oven, and get the oven temperature down to 100ºC (leave the door open to help speed this up.)
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Slowly spoon the hot sugar into the beaten egg whites with the mixture on a high speed, making sure the mixture comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition of sugar.
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Once all the sugar, is added continue to whisk on full speed until the mixture is smooth, stiff and glossy .
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Continue to whisk for at least 5 minutes after all the sugar has been added. Test by rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers; if you can still feel the gritty sugar, keep whisking at full speed until it has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, stiff and glossy.
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Add a few drops of Rosewater and taste. Add more if necessary.
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Spoon the mixture into a piping bag or put spoonfuls onto the prepared baking tray.
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Add slithered Pistachios. Do not add too many as the oil from the nuts can make the mixture go flat.
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Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until the meringue bases come off the baking paper cleanly.
