A hearty cake with some polenta and a food-processor-made almond meal. The topping has a lemon syrup poured over and it’s allowed to soak in, then you put on a crème fraiche glaze. Do serve with some whipped cream or ice cream – it needs it.
This recipe came from a cooking class with Tarla Fallgatter. It’s a recipe she found at Food & Wine last year. Since I get that magazine, I guess I breezed on by it. The cake is not your typical light-as-a-feather style – this is a more rustic version since it contains not only almond meal (that you make yourself – do not use purchased almond meal) but also polenta or cornmeal.
There are several steps to making this, but it’s not difficult. Hopefully you have a stand mixer, as the sugar and egg mixture needs to mix for about 10 minutes or so – until they attain a ribbony texture. Raw almonds are pulsed to a small mince with the polenta in the food processor. You definitely do NOT want almond meal – that’s too fine – this is a rustic cake with some definite tooth-bite to it. The dry ingredients are added in and the cake is baked in a 10-inch springform pan. While it’s baking you make a lemon sugar syrup – nothing more than a simple syrup with lemon juice in it and it’s poured over the hot cake – while it’s still in the springform pan – that way the sugar syrup will soak down into the cake. Once it’s cooled, you remove the pan and frost with the crème fraiche glaze. (It has lemon juice in it too.) That’s it. Tarla sprinkled candied violets over the top, but that’s purely optional.
What’s GOOD: the different texture – this isn’t a layer cake kind of dessert. Expect some chew to it and it’s not overly moist either. That’s why it needs to be served with something else like whipped cream or ice cream, and definitely some sugared berries or juicy stone fruit. Really delicious flavor, though.Worth making.
What’s NOT: really nothing – it does take some time and effort to make, though. None of the steps are daunting, however.
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Almond Cake with Lemon and Crème Fraîche Glaze
Recipe By: From Tarla Fallgatter, cooking instructor, 2013 (originally from Food & Wine, 2012)
Serving Size: 10
CAKE:
1 stick unsalted butter — melted and cooled, plus more for the pan
1 cup almonds — whole, unsalted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup polenta — or cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs — at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup crème fraîche
SYRUP:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
GLAZE:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1. CAKE: Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 10-inch springform pan.
2. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 4 minutes, until they are slightly fragrant. Let the almonds cool completely. In a food processor combine the almonds and cornmeal. Coarsely chop them – pulse the mixture until the almonds are finely ground but not pasty.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the ground almond mixture, flour, baking powder, rosemary, lemon zest and salt. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk, combine the eggs and sugar and beat at medium-high speed until tripled in volume, 10 minutes, or until it’s ribbony in texture. With the mixer at low speed, add the crème fraîche, then drizzle in the melted butter just until incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg mixture into the dry ingredients in 3 batches. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until a paring knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
4. SYRUP: While the cake is baking prepare syrup. In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar and lemon juice and boil for 3 minutes. Let cool.
5. Set the hot cake on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the syrup evenly over it. Let the cake cool completely. Remove the side and bottom of the pan and transfer the almond cake to a platter.
6. GLAZE: In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, crème fraîche and lemon juice until smooth. Spread the glaze all over the top of the cake. Let stand until the glaze sets slightly, then cut into wedges and serve.
7. Ideally, serve this with some sugared fresh fruit that has marinated for half an hour or so – like strawberries or peaches so they make a syrup. Since the cake is a bit on the dry side, you’ll enjoy the moisture from the fruit.
Per Serving: 469 Calories; 25g Fat (47.5% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 130mg Cholesterol; 295mg Sodium.






There’s only one really big “condition” about making this –
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