The French are amazing in more ways than one. The fashion, the food, the love and my favorite -- the desserts. Indulge in this easy-to-make french almond cake. Adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine's, its chicness and simple but flavorful taste, will quickly make it a staple in your book-o-desserts. Oh yeah, and it's vegetarian! Here is the recipe with a couple of my own edits.
PREP TIME: 10-15 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 25 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup Fage Greek Yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups of Wholesome Natural Cane Sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 3 tsps baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure almond extract
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sunflower oil
For the glaze:
- 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
- 3/4 cup Wholesome Organic Powdered Confectioners sugar + more for sprinkling on top
- 1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper (place pan on top of parchment paper, trace around with pencil, cut it out and you'll have the perfect size) and lightly spray parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place almonds in a small baking pan. Spread to a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes or until just beginning to turn pale golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Combine the orange zest, orange juice, powdered sugar and extracts in a small bowl for the glaze. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Cover and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, whisking until well blended. Add extracts and whisk until combined.
- Sift and add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the oil and stir well. Don't worry, at first it will seem to separate, but keep stirring till smooth. This might take 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch in the center and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if getting too brown near the end and cake is still not done*. Be careful not to over bake. Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes; then turn it out of the pan, upside-down onto the rack.
- While cake is still warm, using a pastry brush, gently pat the glaze all over the cake. Just keep going over the cake till the glaze is gone. Some of it will drip off, but most of it will soak in. Sprinkle almonds over top of cake while glaze is wet and pat gently. Allow cake to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
*Spray foil lightly with cooking spray or rub with a bit of oil to prevent cake from sticking to the foil.
