What a cake! It's just like Nigella says, "Cake Nirvana". A simple yet sublime combination of flavors that are strong but clean. It's a perfect cake for serving with fresh berries and vanilla ice cream.
This weekend I got to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. When the weather took a turn for the worse on Friday I decided to relax and stay around the house. I still made my trip to the Market (I wouldn't miss that) but as luck would have it the rain started pouring down just as I was about to leave. I tried to wait it out, but after 20 minutes I made a run for the car (I knew wearing sandals was a bad idea!). I put my head down and headed towards where I thought my car was and of course I couldn't find it. Then when I did it was in the middle of an enormous puddle. Needless to say, I was soggy! When I got back to the house, shivering and wet, I was more than happy to sock myself away in the kitchen for the rest of the day. I made a stir-fry and a big pot of Jambalaya to freeze and for dinner I made barbecue ribs with this cake for dessert.
Damp Lemon & Almond Cake
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup cake and pastry flour
1 1/3 cups ground almonds
1 tsp almond extract
zest and juice of two lemons
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream butter and sugar and then add the eggs on at a time, alternating with additions of flour. When thoroughly mixed fold in the almonds, almond extract and lemon zest and juice. Pour batter into a 8 inch spring-form pan (I think my pan was 10 inches) lined on the bottom with parchment. Bake for 1 hour, but check after 30 minutes to make sure the top isn't too brown.
Yum yum. I don't know how you find the time to do all this great stuff. Do you have someone else clean up afterward? I want to cook and bake more, but... I hate the cleanup afterward! Sigh. I should really buy a new dishwasher, one that doesn't leak all over the floor!
Posted by: Vlad | June 18, 2006 at 11:37 AM
Hi Vlad! Too funny, I guess having a functioning dishwasher is the key. Truly though I do hate the dishes, having a small kitchen is nice in that regard I have to wash some as I go to free up space. I never thought I'd see an advantage to my small kitchen. :o)
Posted by: Liz | June 20, 2006 at 06:02 PM
Heh, my kitchen is small too, but that doesn't seem to help! :) I read your about section, and it's funny that you're in production accounting. I'm working on the PAS project to develop a new pa system. Have you heard of it?
Posted by: Vlad | June 21, 2006 at 06:37 PM
That's funny Vlad. I have heard of it, although I wasn't aware that was the name of the project. What a small world!
Posted by: Liz | June 28, 2006 at 06:18 PM
Hi Liz,
I was remarking to a friend how great your pictures were. I can't seem to take anywhere near such good photos of food. What's your secret?
Posted by: Vlad | July 21, 2006 at 09:10 PM