Almond–Lemon Cake

Name: Almond–Lemon Cake
Total time: PT0D0H0M
Yield: makes ONE 10" LOAF
Ingredients: 8 1 ⁄ 2 oz. (2 sticks plus 1 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 5 eggs; 1 tsp. vanilla extract; 3 ⁄ 4 cup sifted cake flour; 3 ⁄ 4 tsp. baking powder; 2 pinches salt; 1 ⁄ 2 cup almond paste; 1 cup sugar; 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

Serves
makes ONE 10" LOAF

Almond-Lemon Cake

(Torta al Limone)

When noted chef Jonathan Waxman prepared this cake for us, he napped it with lemon syrup, though it's good enough to eat plain.

Ingredients

8 ¹⁄₂ oz. (2 sticks plus 1 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
³⁄₄ cup sifted cake flour
³⁄₄ tsp. baking powder
2 pinches salt
¹⁄₂ cup almond paste
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

Instructions

Step 1

Put an oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8-cup loaf pan with 1⁄2 tbsp. of the butter. Line bottom and long sides of pan with a sheet of parchment paper long enough to drape over sides by 2"-3", leaving short ends of pan unlined. Butter parchment paper with 1⁄2 tbsp. of the butter. Set pan aside.

Step 2

Lightly whisk eggs and vanilla together in a medium bowl and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into another medium bowl and set aside.

Step 3

Crumble almond paste into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar while mixing; mix until texture is grainy, about 2 minutes. Add remaining butter, 1 tbsp. at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat almond mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture 1 tbsp. at a time while beating constantly. Continue beating, stopping as needed to scrape down sides of bowl, until mixture is pale and has doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon zest. Gently fold in half the flour mixture at a time. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth out top with the spatula.

Step 4

Bake cake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Tent a piece of foil over cake and continue to bake until cake contracts from sides of pans and springs back when lightly touched, 55-60 minutes more. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then grab parchment paper and lift cake out of pan. Peel off parchment and let cool completely on rack.