The Garden
a recipe for berry-almond cake
This is an incredibly useful cake if you sometimes need to cater for people who can't eat gluten or dairy. It's not vegan, because it's heavily based on eggs. I have wondered if the beaten eggs could possibly be replaced with chickpea water (aquafaba) to make it vegan, but I've never tried it. I'd be a little suspicious that it might mess it up as the egg yolks also provide extra fat, it's not just about the egg whites. But it might be worth a try.I adapted this cake from a Claudia Roden recipe at this blog: One Dish Closer. The cake is supposedly Claudia Roden's Tarta di Santiago and the blog quotes her:
"This is a splendid cake which is normally made in a wide cake or tart tin and comes out low, but it is equally good as a thicker cake. I have eaten almond cakes in other parts of Spain but this one is special. Pilgrims and tourists who visit the great Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where the relics of the apostle Saint James are believed to be buried, see the cake in all the windows of every pastry shop and restaurant, decorated with the shape of the cross of the Order of Santiago."
I sometimes make another Claudia Roden recipe for orange cake (you can use any citrus though) which uses the same method of separating eggs, beating the whites, and folding them back together. That cake is great too; like this one, it's good if you need to cater for gluten-free and dairy-free people. I slightly prefer the texture of this blueberry version though. Also, in its first iteration, this was a blueberry cake, but you can use any berries. I always use frozen ones, but only for convenience; sometimes raspberries, or blackcurrants, or sometimes a mix of several types. Raspberries are great with the almond, but really anything works.
Berry almond cake
(dairy free and gluten free, as long as you line the tin with olive oil)
INGREDIENTS
250g ground almonds
6 eggs, separated
250g caster sugar (reduced to 200 last couple of times, worked fine)
Grated zest of 1 orange (could just use the lemon if no oranges available)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
4 drops almond extract
Oil, to grease the cake tin
Icing sugar, for dusting the cake
Several handfuls of berries, frozen is good (I should maybe weigh them next time)
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a pale cream with an electric mixer, then beat in the orange and lemon zests and almond extract. Add the ground almonds and mix well.
With the cleaned mixer, whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the egg and almond mixture - the mixture is so thick that you need to turn it over quite a bit into the egg whites.
I think it is worth mixing quite thoroughly - it is not a disaster if there are bits of more densely almondy parts but the egg white makes the cake much lighter, so good to disperse it evenly.
Eventually I've come up with a method of mixing a bit of the egg white (maybe one third?) in first with a fork to really incorporate and soften the mixture, then gently fold in the rest.
I lined and then greased with olive oil my large springform cake tin, which is 24cm. The original recipe called for 28cm in diameter, so I was concerned about how it would work, but with an extended cooking time it was fine.
Pour half or two-thirds of the cake mix into the tin, then dot a layer of berries around. It should be thick enough that they don't really sink through the batter. Pour the rest of the mixture on top of them, then drop another large handful of berries all over the top.
An alternate version: I just made one with bright pink rhubarb, which is a great version for January. Chopped three massive stalks into fairly thin slices and mixed them with two tablespoons of caster sugar, left them to sit for a couple of minutes, then added them the same way I add the berries - half into the middle and then half on the top of the cake.
Put the cake into an oven preheated to 170C (fan) for 50 minutes (recipe adds 'or until it feels firm'). There is a question about cooking times here, as I left it in for an hour, covering with foil later on to avoid the top colouring too much. But in retrospect I would test it at 50 mins. I suspect that because of the almonds and eggs it's actually hard to overcook/dry out this cake, and it turned out perfectly moist. Also, the original recipe says it doesn't rise, but I think it did - not hugely, but nicely. It doesn't stay flat.
Let it cool before turning out. Dust the top with icing sugar.
By the way, I think this cake is fairly robust to cock-ups, one example being that last time I made it, I accidentally broke one of the yolks as I was splitting them. No yolk fell into the bowl of whites but I had to dump that egg in a separate bowl before it contaminated the yolks. (If you get even a speck of yellow in a bowl of egg whites, they won't stiffen up properly when you beat them). I was annoyed about having to use an extra egg and having to save this one to use in something else later. So I decided to try and use only five eggs. Later though, having beaten the egg yolks and sugar, the whole mixture looked too dry. So I beat that spare whole egg thoroughly (it doesn't get very stiff but at least it's frothy and gets more volume) and I mixed it in before combining with the rest of the whites. And it turned out fine; there's nothing magical about the seapration of whites and yolks other than it allows the whites to get really stiff and volumised when you beat them, which adds air and volume to the cake later on when it bakes. So while I wouldn't suggest skipping the separating step entirely and trying to make it entirely with whole eggs, you can definitely get away with it if you happen to break one.
FOLLOW A PATH THROUGH THE GARDEN