Saturday, April 5, 2008

Clay's Almond and Cormeal Pound Cake

We had a new friend over for dinner on Sunday and I had a last minute compulsion to throw together a dessert. There was a bit of almond paste hanging around (not marzipan people) and I needed to find a way to use it up. I bake so much that I always have pounds (literally) of unsalted butter and eggs in the fridge and decided to go for this cake.

This cake was much simpler to assemble than it reads. I was able to put it together while I had a sauce going on burner - so don't be intimidated by the steps - it's perfectly manageable.

While we ate this as is (and it was gorgeously simple and light), it would be extraordinary with a pear compote in the winter or fresh berries or a rhubarb compote in the summer. A little freshly whipped cream wouldn't hurt either.

Makes one light and yummy pound cake:

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
  • 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
  • 1/3 cup almond paste (3 1/4 ounces)
  • 2/3 cup plus 4 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature, separated
  • 1/2 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Get Prepared
For recipes that require many bowls (and a lot of beating), I typically like to get my ingredients lined up and ready for me before I fold them together. The follow steps are outlined to get you all set up for a gorgeously simple and light cake.
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you are particularly interested in getting this cake to release from the pan, it's best to line it with parchment. Always lightly (truly, lightly) butter the parchment as well and the sides of the pan. Lightly dust the pan and parchment with flour. For this cake I used a loaf pan but an 8-9 inch round with work. When using a loaf pan, I like to arrange the parchment so that it hangs slightly over the edge of the longest side of the pan. Then you can practically lift it right out of the pan after it cools.
  2. Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set it aside for later.
  3. In your mixer, beat the egg whites and remaining 4 1/2 teaspoons sugar on medium speed with a whisk attachment until they hold stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer these to another bowl and set aside in a cool place. (If you are a slow baker, you will want to wait to do this step until just before you incorporate the whites. Otherwise (and depending n the season) they may begin to break down.
Now for the fun stuff . . .
Here, you will begin working in the bowl of your mixer (be sure to wash it out and dry it after you transfered the egg whites)

Cut it, Beat it, Mix it, Fold it.
  1. Put almond paste and 2/3 cup sugar in the bowl of your mixer. Cut the almond paste into the sugar using a pastry cutter until you get a coarse meal (such as barley or steel cut oats). It is so much easier (and butch) to do it this way. If you break out the food processor, you will bit a bit annoyed when it comes time to wash-up. You can also cut the almond paste into the sugar with knives (which is, lets be honest, the hottest option here).
  2. Add butter and beat with your paddle attachment until soft and pale, about 4 minutes. Again, you can butch it up and do this by hand with a wooden spoon. It will take some time, but you will get admirable forearms out of it.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, vanilla, and egg yolks. 
  4. With mixer running, gradually add milk mixture to butter mixture and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl as necessary. Make sure all the almond butter mixture is incorporated into the wet ingredients.
  5. Add the dry ingredients in in waves until incorporated.
  6. Now, fold in your egg whites until barely incorporated. Be careful here, if you over do it your cake will not leaven. After all the cutting and beating, this is the time to be delicate and gentle.
  7. Pour batter into your buttery pans. Bake until golden and it gives back, about 40, 50, or 60 minutes depending on your oven and the pan you use. Check the cake at about 30 minutes and keep an eye on it as it bakes from this point. If the top is browning quickly tent the cake with foil. I almost always do this with pound cakes in part because they are stand-alone desserts. This step will ensure that your cake has a delicate and even color throughout.
  8. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before you release it.

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