Years ago, when I was in a small hilltop village of Orvieto, Umbria, Italy, I had a slice of the most amazing almond cake, at a restaurant off the main church square, called Ristorante Maurizio. I am actually not usually a huge dessert fan, steering clear of creme brûlées and cannolis, and preferring cheese plates or cookies. But, this almond cake was lightly sweet with a touch of crunch from the freshly ground almonds. It was served alongside some figs and it was perfection. I have thought about that cake for years!

So, when browsing through a cookbook this week and I came across recipe called Almond Cake I was intrigued. It was in a French cookbook, Italy’s lovely western neighbor, so I wasn’t sure how similar it would be but I had to give it a try. The French name for it is pain de genes and is usually served with tea.

I used almond flour to remove the step of grinding the whole almonds though I’m sure that would be equally if not more delicious. But time is of the essence with a baby in the house. This whipped up in no time at all and if you didn’t want to add the glaze you could just sprinkle it with powdered sugar and be done.

I decided to use my heart cake pan to make it a tad cuter and lined the outside edge with a trace of almond slivers. If you do it immediately after brushing on the glaze the almonds stick nicely. If I had more time I might have covered the whole top with the slivers….someday!

Almond Cake

Recipe by: French Classics Made Easy, Richard Grausman, 2011

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. melted butter and all-purpose flour, for cake pan
• Either: ⅔ cup whole blanched almonds or ¾ cup slivered almonds or ¾ cup almond flour
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. dark rum or red wine
• For Glaze: ½ cup Confectioners’ sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the middle position. Cut a round of waxed or parchment paper to fit the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch cake pan. Brush the bottom of the pan with the melted butter and place the paper in it. Butter and lightly flour the waxed paper and the sides of the pan. Tap out the pan to remove any excess flour.
2. If using whole or slivered almond, combine with half the granulated sugar in a food processor and grind to a fine powder. If using almond flour, combine with the sugar but there is no need to food process.
3. Add the flour to this mixture and set aside.
4. In a food processor or mixer, cream the 8 tablespoons of butter and the remaining granulated sugar. When smooth, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla and rum or wine. Add the almond-flour mixture and process quickly just until smooth.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan. (It will fill only about one fourth of the pan.) Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown in color and comes slightly away from the edge of the pan. Unmold onto a wire rack, remove and discard the waxed paper, and allow to cool.
6. To serve: Brush with the confectioners’ sugar and milk glaze to coat the surface of the cake. Decorate with sliced almonds if you wish. Cut into 8 wedges.