...and the fabulous almond cake, at last!

Tomorrow became next week, sorry about that!



I am not one of those people who will deprive themselve in order to have room for dessert; I'm more savory than sweet. Nonetheless, I like sweet things now and then, especially if they are made with almonds.

Recently I fell upon this great recipe at Smitten Kitchen. Elegant and refined, that cake comes from Thomas Keller's Bouchon. I had to change the recipe a little because I don't own one of those super Kitchen Aid heavy duty mixer (I envy you, Audrey!), and forget about doing it with a handheld mixer : I would still be at it, trying to break the almond paste... So I used my food processor : fantastically easy. Once baked and garnished, the result was very impressive : it looks like you bought it at a very fancy French pastry shop half a world away and you paid a fortune for it.

Since in Québec, strawberries and rhubarb are not in season yet, I served the cake with cerises flambées au rhum, or flambéed Bing cherries, a recipe from Ricardo Larrivée's most recent cookbook.

Gâteau aux amandes - Almond cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

200 g (7 oz) almond paste, broken in small pieces
1/4 cup sugar
4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick or 1/4 lb), cut into small pieces and chilled
2 tbsp honey
3 large eggs
2 tbsp amaretto, plus additionnal for brushing
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour the bottom and sides of an 9-inch round cake pan. You could also line its bottom with a circle of parchment paper; I didn't, because the bottom of my pan is made of tempered glass, and I left it under the cake for service.

Place the almond paste pieces and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the paste is broken into fine particles (see picture below).

Add 1/3 of the chilled butter at a time and mix well between each addition; the mixture should be light in color and airy; stop the machine and scrape down the sides as necessary. It is important to mix long enough or the cake will have a dense texture.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add the honey and amaretto and mix well; add the flour and a pinch of salt, and mix just to combine.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. If your not sure the pan is going to safely hold the batter, slide it on a large cookie sheet before putting it in the oven. Bake the cake for about 35 minutes, or until the cake is golden and springs back when pressed. Transfer to a rack to cool.

If you did put parchment paper, invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, and invert the cake again on a service platter so that the top is once again facing upward. Brush the top of the cake with amaretto and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. The cake can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days. To serve, cut the cake into wedges. Serve with a side of flambéed cherries.

8 reasonable servings, or 6 huge servings...

And to go with the cake, a little color : flambéed cherries. In the originale recipe, Ricardo uses «griottes» a type of sour cherries (I think), but suggests to replace them by canned Bing cherries (be careful, not the pie mix but real canned fruits), which I did because they are much easier to find at the supermarket.

Cerises flambées au rhum - Flambéed Cherries with rum

Adapted from Ricardo - Meals for Every Occasion

In a medium skillet, melt 1 tbsp. butter on med-high. Add 1 tbsp sugar and stir for a minute of so. Add a 398 ml can (14-15 oz) of Bing cherries, drained (keep a little of the juice and add it to the pan to obtain a bit of sauce), and stir while they warm up. When the preparation is boiling, add 2 tbsp of rum and light up the cherries with a barbecue lighter. The flame should subside rapidely. Place the cherries in a bowl and serve alongside the cake.

Long weekend in Canada, and a first time dining outside

Last Saturday, we had dinner on Eric's and Audrey's terrasse, with a couple of friends, among them Frédéric, a long lost buddy from mine and Eric's days in graphic design at UQAM. Good, good times! We laughed so much I cried. Wine was good, company too.

On the menu : polish squewers and chicken drumsticks on the grill, greek salad and green and red salad, with mayonnaise-like dressing, and almond cake with flambéed cherries. «Life is hard...», Éric ironised, while contemplating all the food on the kitchen counter.

Salade fraîcheur - Green and red salad

A mix of romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce (1 to 2 heads, depending on the size)
About 1 cup of red cabbage, minced
2-3 libanese cucumbers, chopped
1 bunch of aspargus, washed, base discarded and cut in 4 pieces, then blanched 3 minutes and immediately plunged in chilled water to cool, then drained
1 can of whole palm hearts, rince in cold water and cut in rounds

Vinaigrette crémeuse - Mayo-like dressing

Vinaigrette crémeuse - Creamy mayo-like dressing

Adapted from Coup de Pouce, vol. 5, no 2, 1990

1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard, or more to taste
1 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 cup of light olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, or xeres vinegar
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, mustard and salt. Let the mix warm up at room temperature, about 5 minutes. This will ensure an easy (and successfull) emulsion.

Slowly whisk in the oil, drop to drop almost. But as soon as you feel that the mayonnaise has hold, it is possible to add good quantities of oil, and whisk it in nicely, without being afraid of everything going flat.

Once the mayonnaise is up and nice, add the vinegar in 2 or 3 additions, whisking between each. Add the lemon juice and see the mayonnaise becoming paler, almost white. Finish it by incorporating the garlic. If you want a dressing a little more on the liquid side, simply add a little water and mix well.

More to come tomorrow : the dessert recipe.

It was REALLY good.