Serves 8
Like a thick almond macaroon, this thin cake is chewy, dense, and nicely almond-y. It’s made with brown butter, which accentuates the nutty flavor. (Brown butter borrows an ingredient from a French confection called financiers, which are little buttery almond cakes.) You can buy finely ground almonds, labeled almond meal or almond flour. Bob’s Red Mill is one brand. Or grind your own: In a food processor, chop 1 packed cup of raw or blanched whole almonds until finely ground to yield the 1⅓ cups needed here.
Butter (for the pan) | |
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6 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1⅓ | cups almond meal or finely ground almonds |
1 | cup granulated sugar |
⅓ | cup flour |
⅛ | teaspoon salt |
4 | egg whites |
1 | teaspoon vanilla extract |
Confectioners' sugar (for sprinkling) |
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with a round of parchment paper cut to fit it, and butter the paper.
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2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Let the butter bubble, swirling the pan occasionally, for 3 minutes or just until it turns brown and smells nutty. Quickly pull the pan from the heat to prevent burning; cool.
3. In a bowl, whisk the almond meal, granulated sugar, flour, and salt.
4. Using a rubber spatula, stir the egg whites into the almond mixture, just until blended. Add the vanilla. Slowly pour the butter into the almond mixture, stirring just until blended.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and unlatch the sides of the pan. With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Lisa Zwirn