Recipe: Chocolate-Almond Cake

Recipe Source: Teubner, Christian.  The Chocolate Bible.  Penguin Studio, New York, 1997 pp. 120-1.

Last weekend, I went to a party at a friend's house.  I was asked to bring dessert.  The party had an Indian theme, so I made rice pudding (which will be posted in the next few days.)  The only problem is that I've never liked rice pudding.  It's something about the lack of chocolate.  I decided that I would also bring something that I would enjoy, and that something was a chocolate and almond cake.  With almond paste bits in the mix.  Woo-hoo! 

I've always been kind of intimidated by this book.  The recipes are a lot more technical than I'm used to.  Still, avoiding it isn't very Fearless, now is it?  The original is for a base cake with three different flavorings.  I chose the almond paste filling because I love almonds, and because I still had some homemade almond paste in the fridge (I told you it would last for months in the fridge!).  Once I got past my nervousness, this recipe really wasn't very difficult.  I followed it pretty exactly.  I did use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean - vanilla beans are expensive.  The result was a very moist cake, almost too moist really, because the center of each cake kind of cracked and broke when I went to move the loaves.  The syrup is my own addition.  I added the rosewater to the syrup in order to bring a slightly more Indian flavor to the dish.  The syrup exists to keep the cake moist if you're going to keep it for a few days, so flavoring is optional. 

Chocolate-Almond Cake with Almond Paste (serves 18; approx. $0.61/serving)

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate

11 ounces almond paste, divided

6 eggs, separated

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/4 cups ground almonds

Simple syrup for brushing (recipe follows; you'll have LOTS left over for future cakes!)

Confectioner's sugar and almond flakes, for garnishing (technically optional.)

Equipment:

• 2 bowls
• Stand mixer with whisk attachment
• 3 loaf pans
• 2 saucepans
• Whisk
• Pastry brush
• Wire rack

1. Rig up a double boiler: Put a bit of water in the bottom of one of the saucepans.  Bring it to a simmer.  Put the chocolate - both kinds - in one of the bowls (preferably a metal one) and set it over the barely simmering water.  Melt the chocolate in this way.  Stir it occasionally to keep it from burning.
2. Preheat your oven to 325.
3. Take 10 ounces almond paste.  Cut it into pieces and stick it in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
4. Knead 1 ounce almond paste with 1 egg yolk until smooth in a second bowl. 
5. Using the whisk, beat the almond-yolk mixture with the remaining egg yolks until frothy. 
6. Add the vanilla, salt and butter to the bowl with the melted chocolate.
7. In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the egg whites with the sugar and cornstarch until very stiff.
8. Combine all three mixtures. 
9. Add the semi-frozen almond paste bits to the ground almonds.
10. Add the almonds to the rest of the batter and fold in.  Try to be gentle about this; you don't want to burst all the bubbles in the egg whites.
11. Grease and flour the loaf pans.
12. Pour the batter into the loaf pans.  Bake 40 - 45 minutes.
13. Cool in the pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto the wire rack and cool completely.
14. Brush each cake with the simple syrup.
15. To decorate: Take a piece of paper and put it in the middle of the top of the cake.  Dust confectioner's sugar over the cake.  Put the almond flakes down the stripe in the center. 

Simple Syrup (makes about 3 cups; approx. $0.12/cup)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 tablespoon rose water (optional)

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in the saucepan, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add the rosewater, if using.

Comments

[Hugh Mannity]

And it was delicious!

[The Duo Dishes]

Almond paste makes you feel good. It's so yummy spread on anything...chocolate, croissants, cake.

[lisa (dandysugar)]

This looks so delicious. I love your addition of rosewater to the original recipe. Very unique combination of flavors!

[Sophie]

This looks so delicious! Can I have a piece right now with my breakfast?!?

[kat]

Wow, that looks like a wonderful cake!

[Fearless Kitchen]

Hugh - thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

Duo - I'm a huge fan of almond paste. Or anything else with almonds.

Lisa - I'll take almost any excuse to add rosewater :)

Sophie - Coming right up.

Kat - ?Thanks!

[Sue]

Could one change the nuts and maybe use something different or would the almonds be the best here, this cake just added to my hips and I haven't even made it yet :)

[Fearless Kitchen]

Sue - Well, I really, really like almonds, which is why I made this in the first place, but I'll confess to a certain curiosity as to how raspberries would work here.

[Goldilocks Bakery]

I really love cakes with almonds nut!

-Ava