January 16, 2014
This week, that gnarly stomach bug going around came and chose me. Thanks. In the midst of my despair all I kept thinking about was the blog…and thinking/hoping that this flu better leave me skinnier (isn’t that the payoff for the pain?). How in the hell was I going to put an eat, drink or garden blog together from this position? From the life raft of my bed, I remembered a recipe ready to go and it’s a good one.
This almond citrus cake is a healthier cake, a delicious cake, making it a perfect for January cake. Pre-plague, I tested the recipe three times and can attest it’s worth baking if you can stand upright. Also it’s gluten free, easy to make and the citrus syrup shows off the tastes of the season.
I adapted the recipe from Moro: The Cookbook. We recently were invited to be a part of a dinner party club. My friend Michelle had this brilliant idea that we actually cook our way through our collection of cookbooks one dinner party at a time (more on that adventure to come). Our first party focused on Moro: The Cookbook and I made this cake. It was a hit as far as I can remember…it was dessert after all, and our significant others decided their contribution to the evening would be keeping all the wine glasses full throughout the night.
Isn’t the citrus syrup gorgeous?
Oh, those were the days…Isn’t crazy how the world stops and seems so far away when the flu moves in? Here’s to returning to the land of the living, eating and drinking — I’m looking at you February.
Egg yolks and sugar.
Mix in the almond meal.
Gently fold in egg whites.
Time for syrup.
Time to eat.
Adapted from Torta de Naranja found in Moro: The Cookbook
6 eggs, separated
1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups almond meal
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
Syrup
Juice of each of the following
4 navel oranges
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon sugar
Preheat oven to 350
In a big mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1 cup sugar until light yellow in color. Next, stir in almond meal and zest. It will be pretty thick and pasty (oh the jokes are endless).
Whip the whites with 1 tablespoon sugar until stiff peaks form, this is easiest to do in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Now, fold the paste into the whites. It will be hard to incorporate the two at first but it will happen. Try not to over mix; you want to keep the whites fluffy. Spray the inside of a nine-inch spring form pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
Bake on the middle rack for 40 – 50 minutes.
Whilst the cake bakes, mix together the ingredients for the syrup over medium heat in a small saucepan. Once it boils reduce to simmer and continue to cook for up to 10 minutes. The syrup will be thin and tart. Cool and store in the fridge until you are ready to use.
When the cake is done baking, remove from the oven and cool completely before opening the spring form pan and if you used parchment paper, carefully remove it now. Transfer to a cake plate and with a skewer poke 6 holes in the top and pour approximately 1/2 of the syrup over the cake. When you slice the cake to serve you can add a bit more of the syrup to each slice. Personally, I like my served with a hit of cinnamon flavored whipped cream.
