I’m grateful the proficient recipe builders at Bob’s Pink Mill didn’t catch wind of the truth that many Individuals detest the phrase “moist” earlier than slapping the “Magically Moist Almond Cake” recipe on hundreds of thousands of baggage of their Tremendous-Superb Almond Flour. Whereas they’ve made an addendum to the recipe on-line, including “a.ok.a. Wonderful Almond Cake,” they haven’t up to date the packaging. And rightfully so: there’s merely no higher option to describe this cake than by attributing some kind of wizardry to it. Someway, its crumb is concurrently ethereal and dense, delicate and durable, mild and wealthy, elegant and gritty. “Wonderful” merely doesn’t reduce it.
This recipe first got here into my life in 2019 within the type of a birthday cake. A pal offered a single, unassuming golden-brown layer alongside a bowl of whipped cream and sliced strawberries. The cake wasn’t a showstopper, however the second I took a chew, I knew it was one thing particular. Since then, I’ve made it innumerable occasions. It’s luxurious sufficient you could possibly confidently serve it at a cocktail party, however easy sufficient you could possibly name it breakfast. It could by no means be misplaced alongside a cup of afternoon tea or a splash of amaro on the finish of a night. You’ll be able to go away it utterly naked, mud it with powdered sugar, or serve it with any mixture of dairy — whipped cream, creme fraiche, and ice cream work nice right here — and contemporary fruit or jam. Should you don’t imagine me, simply skim the recipe’s feedback part and also you’ll see numerous rave evaluations.
Whereas the tremendous people at Bob’s don’t specify the origins of the cake, it appears possible it was impressed by Spain’s tarta de Santiago, a flourless almond cake that has been welcoming intrepid vacationers and pilgrims on the finish of the Camino de Santiago in Galicia because the Center Ages. The aromatic Spanish cake is prized for its dense but mild texture and almond-forward taste. The twist on this recipe is that Bob’s — the principle purveyor of maybe the world’s biggest choice of various flours — additionally provides coconut flour to the alt-flour occasion. Mixed with the holy baking trinity — eggs, butter, and sugar — the bottom nuts remodel right into a homey, aromatic cake.
An sudden perk of this cake is that it’s naturally gluten-free. Though I recurrently devour huge portions of gluten, I recognize having a recipe in my again pocket that I can simply whip up for buddies who’re gluten illiberal. The Bob’s recipe remark part is filled with cooks boasting about how they served it to individuals who had preconceived notions about gluten-free baked items and the way this cake satisfied them they could possibly be simply as nice as their gluten-full counterparts.
The recipe can also be keto/paleo/primal low-glycemic-friendly, due to its versatile blueprint. Whether or not you need to substitute the sugar with honey, make it vegan by swapping in oil and alt-milks for the dairy, use almond or lemon extract in lieu of vanilla, deploy all-purpose rather than the coconut flour, or pour the batter into cupcake tins, it all the time works out. Once more, simply look to the feedback part for proof: it’s crammed with triumphant bakers touting a myriad of tweaks.
However again to the fateful night time in 2019 when this cake I first crossed paths. As I used to be leaving to go dwelling, my pal handed me a slice of the cake wrapped in foil and instructed me to stay it in my freezer. She promised that one way or the other it was even higher chilly. I adopted her instructions and it didn’t disappoint. As a result of the cake is so moist, a visit to the freezer offers it an nearly fudgey texture. Whereas I like it at any temperature, I’ll admit that typically I skip straight to freezing it as soon as it’s been unearthed from the pan. Should you observe my lead, you, too, can all the time have a slice of cake on the prepared.
Extra picture illustration credit: cake picture by Kaitlin Bray
