Makes one 9-inch (23 cm) cake, around 10 servings
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup whole almonds, raw (instructions follow) or toasted
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature (so that’s easier to work with the whites)
½ cups honey
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Toast the almonds
Spread whole almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes at 350ºF (175ºC), stirring once or twice.
Make the cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Process almonds in a food processor until finely ground, but be careful not to turn them into a paste. If you want to make sure like me, just put the almonds in a zip-loc bag and pound them with a rolling pin. Don’t worry if there are bigger chunks left, I liked the crunchy texture.
Beat together the yolks, honey, vanilla, baking soda and salt and then add the ground almonds until just combined.
Beat the egg whites until fluffy and doubled in volume, but not firm. I recommend a small-ish stainless steel bowl if doing by hand, and a very clean wire whisk.
Mix in the whites into the almond paste, one third at a time, with soft movements. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.