Almond Joyful Cake

Almond Cake

• 1 ¹⁄₃ cups granulated sugar
• ³⁄₄ cup almond paste (not marzipan)
• 10 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¹⁄₄teaspoon salt

(Double the recipe if you want a two-tier cake)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper, or butter the pan and dust it lightly with flour.
3. Beat together the sugar and almond paste until the paste is finely broken up. A mixer works best–easier on the arms. 🙂
4. Add the butter and beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
5. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs with a fork; slowly add it to the batter as you beat.
6. Add the vanilla.
7. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
8. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter until incorporated–no more.
9. Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10. Cool completely before icing.

Chocolate buttercream icing

Simplest thing in the world. A one pound box of confectioners sugar, a stick of SALTED* butter at room temperature, at least a half cup of powdered baking (DARK**) cocoa, (more, depending upon how chocolaty you want it) and 1-2 tablespoons of milk.

Cream the butter, add the sugar and cocoa a little at a time (so it doesn’t puff up in your face) and the milk a few splashes at a time. You want it stiff enough to hold a peak, not so stiff that it tears your cake apart when you ice it.

I usually double the recipe, because I like lots of icing.

After the cake is iced, while the icing is still tacky, sprinkle the whole thing with coconut flakes.

Enjoy!

*If you don’t use salted butter, add about a quarter tsp when you cream the butter.

**You can can use regular baking cocoa, but it is a very sweet cake, and the dark offsets the sweet a little better, to my palate.