I’m forty now. It’s time to put on my big girl panties and face my fears. I need to be brave. I need to be confident. I need to walk on the wild side for once. I need to bake a three-tiered cake.
In my mind, this cake looks very elegant and pretty, but my mind has been known to exaggerate the truth every now and then (most of the time). Therefore, my goal is to create a cake that would fit a rustic charm description. Actually, it would more likely be called charming but rustic. Basically, it’s going to be a mess, but a cute mess, m’kay?
The taste, however, has to be out of this world. I’ve been fooled one to many times by gorgeous cakes. They lure you in with their intimidating beauty, but leave you flat with their disappointing taste. Well, not this time, baby! The bones of this cake, the heart and soul, if you will, are going to be made up of delectably moist, very dense, almond cakes. Come on… let’s go bake it.
I got this recipe from Julia Child’s baking book Baking With Julia. It’s an easy recipe to make and a delicious cake to eat. In a food processor, pulse together softened butter, almond paste and sugar until it smooths out.
Mix together the almond/butter mixture with 6 eggs, and then fold in sifted cake flour.
Bake the cakes in three square tins of varying sizes. I know the picture below only shows two tins. Imagine a third tin to the right. There you go. You got it.
Once the cakes have cooled completely, level the top of each one to remove the dome.
Then cut each cake in half.
Okay, wrap up each one in plastic and foil, and then freeze until ready to assemble. The recipe below makes enough for both a 4-inch square and 6-inch square cake, or for just one 8-inch square cake. Tune in tomorrow to see how I make the marzipan roses!
- 1 firmly packed Cup (270 g) Almond Paste
- 2 and 1/4 sticks (256 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar
- 6 Large Eggs
- 1 cup (128 g) Cake Flour
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease one 4-inch square baking tin and one 6-inch square baking tin, or one 8-inch square baking tin. Line the bottoms and sides with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the almond paste and sugar until they are mixed evenly together. Add the butter and pulse until mixture is smooth.
- Dump the almond/butter mixture in a bowl connected to a standing mixer. Add the six eggs, and using the paddle attachment mix together on a low speed for 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and mix for an additional 15 seconds.
- Sift the cake flour over top of the mixture and then gently fold it in.
- Divide the batter between the 4-inch and 6-inch cake tins, or pour it all into the 8-inch cake tin.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are golden and springs back when touched. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Using a sharp knife, cut along the edges of the cakes. Carefully invert them onto a large plate, or baking sheet. Level each cake to remove the dome, and then evenly cut the cakes in half horizontally.
- Wrap each cake in plastic and foil and freeze if not using right away.
- One 4-inch square cake tin and one 6-inch square cake tin (or)
- One 8-inch square cake tin
- Parchment paper
- Food processor
- Standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
- Rubber spatula
- Bread knife (for leveling)
