Almond Cake

This Almond Cake recipe is from David Lebovitz. I have made it in the food processor, I have made it partly in the food processor and in a stand up mixture with the paddle attachment, depending on where I am making it. It stores beautifully and just gets better. David says you can freeze it up to 2 months, it has never lasted long enough to try that. It is moist and has that wonderful smell of almond. Everyone I have made it for, loves it!

Serves: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 45-55 minutes

1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
8 ounces of almond paste
¾, plus ¼ cup flour (use Almond Flour for Gluten-free), divided use
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
6 large eggs, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease a 9 inch cake or springform pan with butter, dust it with flour and tap out any excess. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.
2. In a bowl of a food processor or a stand up mixer with the paddle attachment, grind the sugar, almond paste and ¼ cup of flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles coarse sand.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¾ cup of flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. Once the almond paste is completely broken up, add the cubes of butter, vanilla and almond extracts, then mix until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing before the next addition. After you add the eggs, the mixture may look curdled, not to worry, it will come back together after you add the flour.
6. If you are using a food processor, add half of the flour mixture and pulse a few times, then add the rest of the flour until incorporated. Do not over-mix. (When I used a standup mixer with the paddle, I removed it from the stand and mixed in the dry ingredients by hand, do not over-mix.)
7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top is a deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and carefully run a sharp knife around perimeter, loosening the cake from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Serve: Once cool, tap the cake out of the pan onto a cake plate until ready to serve. I topped mine with slightly toasted almonds. You can also serve with whip cream and fresh raspberries.

Note: For Gluten-free cake, I used Bob’s Red Mill super fine Almond Flour.

RESOURCE LINKS:

Odense Almond Paste:

9-inch Parchment Paper Rounds:

9-inch Cake Pan: