birthdays...almond cake with almond butter cream

when people ask me if i will make a cake for their birthday (or any other occasion), they always feel as though they are asking some huge favour and like they really owe me for agreeing. it's as though they think they are causing me some sort of inconvenience and that they're really asking a lot. oh, if they only knew how eagerly i wait for their requests and how excited i get as i plan and prep for the big day. honestly, it's what i live for.

this past weekend was my dear friend anu's birthday. she fell in love with my last birthday cake (actually, she called it her dream cake) and asked if i would make the same one for her. i had a tea party to celebrate my birthday last december and an almond-based cake somehow seemed like the natural fit for a party that celebrated both myself, and my favourite beverage. i absolutely love almonds, frangipane, marzipan or any other dessert/pastry that uses almonds in some way. i found a great recipe for a Dotted Swiss Almond Cake in my Good Housekeeping Great Baking Cookbook but it called for raspberry jam which didn't really appeal to me. i love jam; i love making jam, but i think that jam should be reserved for english muffins, crumpets and toast, so that it can soak into the little nooks and crevices and be appreciated for all its sweet-tartness. it also works well in rugelach (a common treat in my kitchen because my dad loves them). anyway, jam just seems wrong in a cake so i nixed i. i also nixed the almond paste that this recipe called for. i did some reading on almond paste and it seems like a great ingredient. it's very similar to marzipan only it's not at sweet. it is made with ground almonds, sugar, corn syrup and a small amount of oil. i happened to have some ground almonds sitting in my cupboard (leftover from one of my almond-clementine cakes) and i wondered if i could make a substitution. i'm sure the almond paste would have been fine and maybe one day i will try it. however, as far as i can tell, the right combination of ground almonds, white sugar, egg whites and almond extract can create a pretty good substitute for almond paste and i didn't want to search for another ingredient, so i improvised.

the result was a smash hit. i thought the cake was amazing, and my friends and family agreed. it was so amazing, in fact, that i decided to make a variation of this for my mom's birthday last month - hazelnut cake with Frangelico and chocolate buttercream. i roasted raw hazelnuts, ground them and added subtle splashes of hazelnut liquer to the cake batter and to the icing. yes, it was as good as it sounds. maybe even better. the hazelnuts developed a really rich, buttery flavour as they roasted and the cake was incredibly moist and dense. actually, it tasted like a Ferrero Rocher. it was basically a Ferrero Rocher disguised as a cake. i'm not making this up. i wouldn't lie about something like this. anyway, i digress...

the operation: replicate, or improve on, my birthday cake for anu's fabulous 29th birthday party. the results: well, see for yourself!

butter +sugar + ground almonds = heaven

the actual cake is very delicate so you have to handle it with care. it almost has a bread like consistency; it's not too sweet so it is the perfect base for the angelically sugary frosting.

as the icing soaks into the cake, the cake takes on a really dense, rich consistency that is very similar to marzipan.

Anu's Dream Almond Cake with Almond Butter Cream (adapted from Good Housekeeping: Great Baking)

*almond butter cream

1 1/2 cup(s) sugar
5 large egg whites
1 tablespoon(s) vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 1/4 cup(s) milk
2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) butter, softened
8 ounces ground almonds

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease two 8-inch round baking pans. line bottoms with waxed paper, grease paper. dust pans with flour. in medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

in large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter, ground almonds, and sugar until blended, about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. increase speed to medium, beat until well mixed, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl often (mixture may look crumbly). resist the urge to eat this heavenly concoction. instead, gradually beat in egg whites, almond extract and vanilla, just until blended.

with mixer at low speed, alternately add flour mixture and milk to almond mixture, starting and ending with flour, beat until just mixed. pour batter into pans. bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers of cakes comes out clean. cool layers in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. with spatula, loosen layers from sides of pans, invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

here's the tricky bit - i don't use a recipe for my icing. i basically just mix about 1/2 cup of softened butter with as much icing sugar and milk as it takes to create a nice, spreadable icing consistency. so....yeah, mix about 1/2 cup of butter with, i'd say, 4 cups of sifted icing sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk and 1/2 a teaspoon of pure almond extract. note: this is why i call it 'butter cream' instead of buttercream. i recognize that my version is anything but the luscious blend of butter, egg whites and sugar which constitutes traditional buttercream - not to mention that my version requires less than half the work.

with serrated knife, cut each cake layer horizontally in half. place bottom half of 1 layer, cut side up, on cake plate and spread some icing on top. repeat layering 2 times, ending with a cake. cover the entire cake with the rest of the icing and then decorate to your heart's content :o)

it was divine.