Almond Cake for Easter and Passover

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

This Almond Cake is naturally gluten-free, no leavening, no extracts, easily dairy-free for Passover, but wonderful any time.

Ingredients:

(No xanthan gum needed)

• 1 stick (4 oz., 125 g) very soft butter – Earth Balance or coconut oil can be a butter substitute
• 1 cup (8 oz., 250 g) ordinary sugar, divided in half
• 4 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites.
• Pinch of salt
• 2+1/2 cups (8 oz., 230 g) of almond meal/flour slightly rounded

If you don’t use almond extract, you really do need to add the zest of 1-2 lemons or 1-2 oranges if you eat the cake plain. You can also add 1-2 Tbsp. poppy seeds and make a melted lemon juice/sugar glaze to drizzle on top of baked cake.

Note: A Bundt Cake is only about 1+1/2 inches deep at deepest point.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 170 degrees C. Grease and gluten-free flour a 10” (25cm) Bundt pan. Beat the egg whites until stiff in an 8 cup (2 liter) spotlessly clean (meaning no grease at all) mixing bowl.  Add the ½ cup of sugar and beat until the egg white mixture is meringue-like, stiff, glossy, shiny.
2. If you have a second 8 cup bowl, then you can make the rest of cake in a second bowl. Otherwise, scoop out meringue mix onto dinner plate, large cereal bowl and use the empty bowl for cake – no need to wash.
3. Beat very soft butter (Earth Balance, coconut oil), the second ½ cup sugar, egg yolks and almond flour together until thick and creamy. Beat in lemon or orange zest.
4. Scoop about ¼ of the meringue mix into egg yolk mix and beat to blend.
5. Add rest of the meringue mix and carefully fold and gently stir into egg yolk mix. Make sure to get down to the very bottom of the mixing bowl (the mix will be quite stiff and it is hard work). Scrape any zest off the beaters as it tends to stick there.
6. Scoop mix into Bundt pan and cook for about 45 minutes until well-risen, golden brown and set but still soft in the middle. There might be a dip in center of Bundt pan.
7. Remove from oven, let cool in pan for about 5 minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack to finish cooling. The texture should be similar to rolls of almond paste when cut, but cooked throughout. It is quite a tender cake so be careful turning it out.  If it breaks just serve it as slices. Serve on its own, or with raspberry sauce, fresh berries or mango.

Raspberry Sauce – makes about 2 cups

• 1 x 12 oz. (375 g) bag of frozen raspberries
• ½ cup (4 oz., 125 g) ordinary sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml, 4 fl oz) water
• ½ cup (120 ml, 4 fl oz) seedless raspberry jam or jelly for extra oomph of flavor
• Raspberry liqueur, Amaretto, brandy or rum for adults.

Directions:

1. Melt sugar and water together, add raspberries, and simmer for just a few minutes. Stir in raspberry jam until it melts. Depending on ripeness of raspberries and your personal taste you might want to add more sugar.