Monday, December 27, 2010

Golden Almond Cake

   MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

   
    My belated Christmas wishes to you!  Just back from an ad hoc trip to the very beautiful and picturesque South Canara. Coffee and tea estates, the winding roads along the foggy Western ghats and the beautiful ancient temples brought back memories of my visit to these places as a kid. As my amused niece pointed out, most of the incidents I recalled had something to do with food. Not surprisingly, I happen to write a food blog. 

I was still debating about what I would bake for Christmas when my older sister called  to announce that we would all go on a trip very early the next morning. Which meant we would need to reach her place by evening so that we could start early. With the school closed for Christmas vacations, baking, taking pictures and blogging about it is a hair-tearing experience for me. Living in a tornado-swept house (well, a house which looks like one), my daughter constantly hovering around me or my kids at loggerheads with each other and me in a rush to pack up for an ad hoc trip is not the best of times to bake a cake for Christmas.

My personal copy of The Cake Bible arrived a few days ago. What a book to own with all those drool worthy cakes, the variety of frostings and cakes you can pair up to come up with your own unique creation, tips and understanding about the way things work in a particular recipe and so much more! I decided on this quick and easy cake which is delicious on its own without any frosting. The cake is super buttery, super moist, with a predominant almond taste and flavor. If you love buttery cakes and something you would want to make ahead for a picnic the next day, this one is for you to bake!



Recipe from The Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. 

   Ingredients: 

    Eggs - 2, large (100 grams, without shells)
    Yogurt -  2/3 cup (original recipe has sour cream)
    Almond extract - 1 teaspoon (refer note)
    Vanilla essence / vanilla extract - 1/4 teaspoon
    Sifted Cake flour - 1  2/3 cup (refer note below)
    Unblanched, sliced, lightly toasted almonds, finely ground - 1/3 cup (ground)
    Sugar - 1 Cup
    Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
    Baking soda  -1/2 teaspoon
    Salt 1/2 teaspoon ( I skipped this)
    Unsalted butter, very soft - 12 tablespoons (approx 3/4 cup / 170 grams)

   Note: Cake Flour : I made cake flour at home. I have measured out a cup of  plain flour (scoop in the flour into the cup and level method), taken out 2 tablespoons of flour, added 2 tablespoons cornflour. This makes one cup of cake flour. I have made two cups of cake flour, sifted it 5-6 times and then measured out 1 2/3 cup of this. Sifting it a number of times helps the cornflour to get very well mixed with the plain flour.

Almond extract: I have used almond extract and not essence. I would not recommend using almond essence unless you have used it earlier and found it to be good. It can sometimes give out an extremely strong, undesirable overpowering smell and flavor , spoiling the cake. Even with 1 teaspoon extract, I would have liked the flavor a little more subtle and would next time use 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla perhaps.

Eggs: I weighed 2 smallish eggs without shells and was surprised to see it weighed 100 grams! I have put this note here as we normally assume that 3 small eggs can be used in the place of 2 large ones.

Procedure: Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degree F. Grease, line and dust a 9'' round tin lightly with flour. Grease the parchment and dust lightly with flour again.

In a medium mixing bowl, lightly combine the eggs, extracts and 1/4 of the yogurt. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed (with a hand mixer) for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and the remaining yogurt. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to high speed and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides.

Gradually, add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition. This helps incorporate the ingredients and help strengthen the cake structure. Scrape down the sides.  The batter will be quite thick. 

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smoothen the top with a spatula. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and the center of the cake springs back lightly when pressed. The cake should shrink away from the sides of the oven only after removal from the oven. I baked for 40 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack completely. The cake was almost flat on top. It was extremely tender and almost fragile to handle when I tried to transfer it from the tin to the rack. I so wanted to slice and eat it at that moment...



   But of course, I had to stencil it and take the mandatory pics before I could take a bite. If you would like to know, I have taken a printout  of a Christmas tree (on a friend's suggestion, you know who you are!), cut out the outline, placed it on the cake along with the star cut outs. Have placed M&Ms in place of the lights. Dusted powdered sugar generously with a large sieve. You need to be very careful when you lift the paper off the cake. Viola!! We have a Christmas tree on the cake! You could try out any design of course as long as you can cut out a well defined stencil. If artistically challenged  like me, stick to straight lines:-)

    

This cake goes to my Blog Anniversary Event and I would be baking more from The Cake Bible to tempt you to send in your entries:-)). One lucky winner gets a copy of the book.  Thanks to everyone who have sent in their entries. If I have not responded to your recent entry, its because I have been away, I shall respond as early as possible.

This cake is on its way to Champa's Bake - Off.


25 comments:

Sanjeeta kk said...

Love the stencil work on the gorgeous cake. Perfect texture and color.

Padhu Sankar said...

Wow Cake looks fantastic .The Christmas tree stencil work looks lovely.
Wishes for a very Happy and prosperous New Year
Padhuskitchen

Unknown said...

love the texture of the cake..looks awesome..

harini-jaya said...

very creative stencil work on a gorgeous looking cake!

Hari Chandana P said...

Wowwwwwwwwwwww.. Mouth watering recipe.. looks so soft and delicious.. beautiful presentation :)


Hari Chandana
Indian Cuisine

Priya Suresh said...

WOw wat a beautiful christmas tree pattern, awesome cake..

Unknown said...

Once again I had the privilege of eating this cake. It had a beautiful flavor and a very light crumbly texture. Hubby loved it too! :)
Lovely stencil work! Well done Suma! :)

Gayathri Kumar said...

Cake looks so soft and moist. The stencil work is fabulous..

Sumi said...

wonderful cake.Wonder how you manage to bake with the kids. I myself find it very difficult with the 3 yr old at home. ..Iam gonna try this cake soon.Have a happy new year

Reva said...

Festive looking cake with wonderful decorations....
Reva.
www.kaarasaaram.com

Kitchen Boffin said...

Wonderful almond cake... lokks delicious & yummy...

Kitchen Boffin said...

Wonderful almond cake... lokks delicious & yummy...

Pavithra Elangovan said...

The cake looks wonderful and the pictures are so festive ..loved the stencil work.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

yummm!!!! rich and delicious, it sounds :) love the xmas tree on it . New YEar wishes in advance!!

M D said...

Ur cake looks gorgeous. Love that texture and ur topping with icing sugar. Fabulous job!

Unknown said...

Delicious and professional cake out there!

Deeba PAB said...

MERRY MERRY Suma, and warm wishes for a wonderful 2011. What a gorgeous cake... mmm ... I love buttery cakes, and this is right up my street!

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

Wish you a very happy new year Suma. have a great time.

Divya Shankar said...

Hello Suma,
I love your blog and have been following it though I don't have an oven at home. I intend to buy one during this new year sale and I too hail from Bangalore.

I was choosing between two models of samsung Microwave-convection-grill ovens of 28l capacity. One is CE104VDB which has temp from 40-220'c and 99 min max time of operation. The specs say that the heating source is "convection" in this oven. The other is CE1041DFB which has temp from 40-250'C and the heating source in this - combi-grill-convection. Any advise on which one I should go for will be welcome. And I did'nt understand the difference in heating sources. Your help/reply will be appreciated. Please help me out in this. As I infer from your blog, 220'C should also suffice for all my baking interests, how does the heating source in two ovens affect my decision to buy? Kindly feel free to provide me advise on
divya553@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

What a delightful cake! Merry Christmas to you too, albeit a little late. Hope you had a great one!
Adding this cake to the list of bookmarked cakes from your space :) How I wish I could make the entire lot, all at once :P

Veggie Hut said...

Lovely festive cake!

Me said...

looks really good!! I have a question. I am trying thos cake out. when you say one cup, how much is that ?

shali said...

hi do you know where one can buy almond extract in bangalore?

shali said...

hi would you know where one can buy almond extract in bangalore?

Suma Rowjee said...

@Shali - U could try, but am doubtful of the quality.