Almond Torte

Dessert, my friends, is where it's at.

This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone with tastebuds.

This recipe comes from the genius of Alice Waters, chef extraordinaire of Chez Panisse. We have my mom to thank for this one as she told me about this cake after having it a couple of times. I am thrilled to call it a new staple! Every home chef needs go-to recipes and this is my new dessert of choice. 

Serve this cake topped with a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh berries, and/or vanilla ice cream.

Or eat it for breakfast. It's versatile. 

Almond Torte

     from Alice Waters

     yields 1 9-inch cake - use a springform pan

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour

1½ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1¼ cups sugar

7 oz. almond paste, at room temp

10 oz. butter, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla

6 eggs, at room temp

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Grease and line a 9 inch springform pan, set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, combine the almond paste and sugar until the almond paste is in very small pieces. 

Using a standing mixer, beat the unsalted butter until light.

Add the almond and sugar mixture to the butter and cream together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time. Scrape down sides of the bowl making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Gradually add in the flour mixture until just combined.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for one hour, 

until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before serving.

The most perfect slicing you'll ever encounter.

Serve with powdered sugar on the top or with whipped cream. You don't need much, just a tad. The cake is the start of this show.

Enjoy!