I've been wanting to start this blog for a long time but have not been able to find the words or the incentive to start writing. This week I finally feel spurred into action. Maybe it is because it's Monday. Or maybe it is because the passing of Michael Jackson feels so surreal. Whatever it may be I decided this is finally the time to begin this blog. It is not my first time blogging (I have blogged about my running and training for a marathon before) but this time I feel fearful...fearful of what may come and what I want this blog to be.
I have high hopes that this blog will truly be an extension of myself, of the food I love to eat and cook, and how it brings people and family together. So I thought I would start with an old standby in my family, a cake I started making about four years ago. It's a recipe for almond cake with lemon curd that I adapted from Jody Adams cooking, In the Hands of a Chef. Lemon curd is made, chilled, and then spooned on top of a buttery almond cake. The recipe always makes double the amount of curd that is needed but the extra curd is lovely on toast the next morning (or if you're my dad, eaten by the spoonful as a midnight snack). I have made this cake many times but I have yet to figure out a way for the whites to not separate from the curd as it is heated. Given that it is strained I figure no one knows (until now) and it makes no difference in how it tastes yet I can't help feeling frustrated by it every time I make it.
But I am leaving out the best part of this cake. It came accidentally one day when I had only large ten-inch springform pans available. When made with a nine-inch springform pan the cake comes out about two inches high with a dense crumb. However, when made in a wider pan the cake comes out thinner with a crisp yet delicate crust. Paired with lightly sweetened whipped cream this cake is requested by family and friends every time I come home for a visit. I hope you love it as much as I do.
***After many requests I am adding the recipes to future postings. From In the Hands of a Chef:
Lemon Curd:
- Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 extra-large eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
- 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
Garnish:
- 1 tablespoon almond liqueur (optional)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar or as needed
Directions
Combine the lemon zest and juice in a nonreactive saucepan with the sugar and eggs and beat well. Add the butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens into curd. Be sure to keep scraping the bottom of the pan during the few minutes this takes you; you don't want the eggs to scramble before the curd forms. If you're the nervous type, make the curd in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water (the bowl shouldn't touch the water). The curd will take just a little longer to thicken, about 5 minutes. Strain the crud into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface so a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust it with 1 tablespoon of the flour. (I like to use a 10-inch pan for a crispier cake. If you would like a denser taller cake use a regular 9-inch pan).
Cream the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large bowl with 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Sift the remaining 1 cup flour, the baking powder, and salt together and stir into the creamed butter.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat, or the cake will be tough. Add the eggs and ground almonds to the flour and butter mixture, mixing well.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons of lemon curd evenly around the outside of the cake, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Try to place the curd so there's an even amount of cake batter between each dollop of curd. Drop 3 tablespoons curd in the center. Refrigerate any remaining curd for another use (hint: breakfast toast). Sprinkle the top of the cake with sliced almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, according to taste.
Bake until the cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick or knife inserted into the cake comes out clean (be sure not to insert it near the curd), about 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and let cool completely on a rack.
If serving the cake with whipped cream, add the almond liqueur to the heavy cream and beat until the cream is stiff. Sift a thin, even layer of confectioners' sugar over the top of the cake. Present the cake at the table and offer the almond whipped cream on the side. (I usually do not have almond liqueur on hand and prefer to incorporate a tablespoon or two of confectioners sugar to lightly sweeten the whipped cream instead of sifting it over the top).
