LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
Needing a dessert for a Hanukkah dinner, I lit on this cake, which had been on my radar ages ago, but then fell off it. I usually make lemon curd from home-grown Meyer lemons using Alice Medrich’s recipe with a 25% reduction in sugar, but I happened to have a jar of commercial stuff in the pantry, so that sealed the deal.
The cake is a standard butter cake that produces a thick batter. I made a few tweaks: I reduced the sugar in the cake batter by 25%; I reduced the flour by 25% and increased the ground almonds by 50% (so by volume, I used equal parts flour and almonds); I added lemon zest and a dash of almond extract for flavor, and because I had part of a bag of cranberries in the freezer, I halved a handful and folded them in. I was generous with my dollops of lemon curd (which immediately ran together when the cake went into the hot oven), and skipped adding more sugar. I also used a regular cake pan lined with parchment rather than a springform pan. I let the cake cool completely in the pan, then flipped it out onto a plate lined with waxed paper before inverting it onto the serving plate.
This is a delicious cake. The almond and lemon work well together, and the sugar reduction in the cake batter means it’s not too sweet overall with the lemon curd. The cranberries aren’t a necessary component, but have a nice pop.
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