ALMOND CAKE WITH BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES (PASSOVER FRIENDLY)
Over the course of this blog, you’ll be hearing a lot about my three children and my husband. I’m sure at one point you’ll probably tire of it – but, frankly, that’s the tradeoff for the recipes. (Hey, it worked for Ina Garten. We all love Jeffrey!) In fact, considering how big and how tight my family is, you’re going to be hearing a lot about my parents (mother, late father, and stepfather), many assorted grandparents (all deceased, but the sources of great stories and recipes), siblings (2 sisters, 3 step-siblings, and 2 siblings-in-law and all of the assorted spouses), nieces and nephews (10 and counting), pets (3, none of them mine), aunts, uncles, cousins and THEIR kids…and, of course, the assorted friends that may as well be family.
Consider yourselves warned.
I have a ten-year-old daughter. She is gorgeous, brilliant, talented, and starting to grow up.
Step one: Allow her out of our building on her own for short errands that do not involve crossing any streets.
The mission: Go to the corner fruit stand and buy some strawberries for this cake.
Obstacle one: Every time she tries to leave the building, the doorman buzzes us and asks us if she’s REALLY allowed to leave the building unaccompanied.
I love New York.
Obstacle two: I sent her for strawberries. She came back with two boxes of strawberries and two boxes of blueberries, because she thought her brother would like the blueberries. The strawberries were meh because she doesn’t know how to choose berries properly, and I didn’t preauthorize the spending on the blueberries.
At least her heart was in the right place.
And she came home safely.
And was super happy.
To the recipe:
Another almond recipe? Yes. But this one surprised even me. I threw this one together a few days ago, covered it, and pretty much forgot about it in the hustle of real life. By the time I got around to dealing with it, the mediocre strawberries had started to grow some unfortunate white fuzz and had to be tossed, so more had to be purchased, delaying me even more. However, when I peeked at the cake, it still looked good. And when I tasted the cake, I was SHOCKED to find that it was super moist and tasted great! And the macerated berries pushed it over the edge into awesome territory.
What are macerated berries, you ask? “Macerating” is like marinating for non-meat. In this case, we’re infusing fruit with flavor by soaking it in a flavorful liquid. Soaking the strawberries in the balsamic vinegar and orange juice is just mind blowing. Try it on pound cake sometime.
ALMOND CAKE WITH BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES (PASSOVER FRIENDLY)
INGREDIENTS:
4 large eggs, separated
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the scraped insides of 1 vanilla bean.
1 ½ cups (145g) almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pint strawberries
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 ½ tsp sugar
DIRECTIONS:
- PREHEAT AND PREP: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9” cake or springform pan with cooking spray and line with parchment.
- BEAT YOLKS: In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, ¼ cup (50g) sugar, and vanilla until all the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
- WHIP THE WHITES: Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. With the mixer running, stream in the remaining sugar and beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy. (Surprise! You have made meringue!) Set aside.
- ADD DRY INGREDIENTS: Stir almond flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg yolk mixture to form a stiff dough.
- FOLD IN EGG WHITES: Stir in ½ cup of the egg whites to lighten the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites about ½ at a time until fully incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan.
- BAKE: Bake on center rack for 30-35 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan 5 minutes before depanning.
- MACERATE THE STRAWBERRIES: While the cake is baking, slice the strawberries into thin slices and place into a bowl with the balsamic vinegar, orange juice, and sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- SERVE: Spoon the macerated strawberries over the cake before serving.
