Nonna’s Italian Lemon-almond cake. This fantastic recipe is a delicious lemon-almond flour cake, grain-free and gluten-free.
SERVING: One 10″ cake
INGREDIENTS:
- 320 grams (this is about 3 cups + 3 tablespoons) almond flour (not almond meal) or blanched almonds, ground into almond flour
- 200 grams (1 cup + 3 tablespoons) white chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons whipping cream or milk (I used 1.5% milk)
- 180 grams (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, softened
- 130 grams (about 2/3 cup) granulated sugar or coconut sugar, divided
- zest of 4 lemons, about 2 tablespoons
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 40 grams (about 2 tablespoons) of limoncello or lemon juice
- berries and powdered sugar as garnish, optional
METHOD:
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 176°C and grease a 10″ / 26cm pan or line it with parchment paper. If using blanched almonds instead of almond flour, process them in the food processor until they’re pretty finely ground. If you grind them too much, they’ll release oil and become almond butter.
Combine the white chocolate and milk / cream in a microwave safe bowl.
Heat in 30 second increments and stir after every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest. Beat the butter with 100 grams of sugar and beat until fluffy.
Add the lemon zest, egg yolks and lemon extract and beat until well combined. Then add the almond flour / ground almonds and the melted chocolate. Add the limoncello / lemon juice and beat until combined.
In a separate bowl with spotlessly clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 30 grams of sugar to the egg white mixture. Fold the egg whites into the almond batter until well combined. Spoon the batter into the greased pan and bake for 40 – 45 minutes. If making half the cake, use a 7″ / 18cm pan and bake for 30 minutes. The cake will puff up in the oven, but when cooling, it’ll fall back down.
Let it cool completely in the pan and then invert the cake onto a plate, and then flip that back into the pan or onto another plate (so that it’s not upside down).
Sprinkle on some powdered sugar if desired and top with berries, but only before serving.
Lemon-almond cake is now ready to be served!
Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated (I think it’s best that way) for up to 5.
Notes:
If using coconut sugar, blend in a coffee grinder first so that it’s basically like powdered coconut sugar. I’d be worried about how well non-grinded coconut sugar would do with the egg whites. I’m guessing not well. Please note that your cake will be brown and not yellow! It’s unfortunately not possible to use coconut sugar and have the cake come out yellow.
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