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EASY ALMOND CAKE

EASY ALMOND CAKE

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Serves: 10-12

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  • Nigella Recipe
  • Vegetarian

You just will not get the marzipan to ooze into the cake batter if it starts off fridge-cold. In dire straits, I have cubed it and given it a quick whirl in the microwave. And if you wanted to replace the vanilla extract with the zest of an orange, I wouldn't mind in the slightest.

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Ingredients

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  • 250 grams unsalted butter (softened)
  • 250 grams marzipan (softened)
  • 150 grams caster sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon almond essence
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 large eggs
  • 150 grams self-raising flour
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HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS

Method

You will need a 25cm springform tube pan or patterned ring mould, buttered and floured.

  1. Preheat oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3. Chop the butter and marzipan to make them easier to break down, and put them in the bowl of the food processor, fitted with the doublebladed knife, with the sugar. Process until combined and pretty well smooth. Add almond essence and vanilla extract, process again, then break the eggs one at a time through the funnel, processing again each time. Tip the flour down the funnel, processing yet again, and then pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping the sides and bottom with a rubber spatula.
  2. Bake for 50 minutes, but check from 40. Then, when the cake looks golden and cooked and a cake-tester or fine skewer (or a piece of spaghetti) comes out cleanish, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin before turning out. (This is when you will be feeling grateful if it's the Springform you're using.)
  3. The fact that you could easily get 12 slices out of this is another reason why it comes in useful when you've got people coming for dinner. That it keeps for a good week is another point in its favour; you don't have to be fiddling around with all the courses just before lift-off. And if you don't want to eat raspberries with it, like the rosemary cake it's very good with apples. With this cake, I make a glorious pink apple puree. Either go for apples stewed in blood-orange juice (wonderful around February when the tarocchi are in) which gives a tenderly coral tint, adding a cinnamon stick or 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, or use red-skinned eating apples and don't peel them before cooking them. In fact, there's no need to core them either, just chop the apples roughly and put them in a pan with some butter, lemon juice, cinnamon or cloves and, if there's some around, a slug of Calvados. Sieve the apples when they're cooked to an utterly yielding pulp, or push them through a food mill. If you want to smarten up the cake-plus-puree deal, then provide a bowl of creme fraiche (with or without Calvados and a little golden icing sugar stirred in) with some toasted flaked almonds on top.
  4. I am not someone who enjoys peeling and depithing oranges at great length, but sliced tarocchi, or ordinary oranges, with a syrup made by reducing equal volumes of juice and sugar to an almost-caramel, would partner an orange-zested version of this almond ring (the zest in place of vanilla) exquisitely.

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  • My daughter made this cake and brought it to me for Easter, decorated with chocolate, Easter eggs and chicks in a nest. It was truly delightful and liked by all. Needless to say, it was soon gone. Diana Dainow

    Posted by Mimble on 28th Apr 2011 at 12.52

  • I made this cake the other day but turned it into an upside-down cake by melting about 50g of unsalted butter in a pan, then frying 4 medium-sized thinly sliced apples in the butter until soft before adding 75g caster sugar and 25g more butter. I put this into the bottom of a buttered cake tin then pretty much followed the recipe, but I didn't have any almond essence so I used 40g ground almonds. It turned out beautifully and we ate it with some cold custard whilst it was still warm.

    Posted by katielawes on 15th Aug 2011 at 14.14

  • Is there a substitute for marzipan? can it possibly be left out completely?? if not, where can i buy it? Cheers

    Posted by jen92 on 23rd Sep 2011 at 14.14

  • Does this cake freeze well?

    Posted by zba1983 on 4th Nov 2011 at 12.09

  • if you leave it out you won't get the same cake at all.. but it's really easy to get it from any supermarket in the home baking section.

    Posted by antogardner on 9th Nov 2011 at 16.10

  • suziQ: I was sad to find your dvds do not have a subtitles option as I have a hearing impairment.

    Posted by Ella-Paige on 28th Jan 2012 at 5.35

  • Made this over Christmas to use up the leftover marzipan from our Christmas cake. Works really well with gluten-free flour too and stays wonderfully moist.

    Posted by AnnetteQ on 29th Dec 2012 at 12.05

  • Did exactly what it said on the "tin"...worked a treat with the raspberries, jug of custard was an added treat for my guests! Love it.

    Posted by LifeOfMii on 10th Jan 2013 at 20.23