Chinese Almond Cakes Recipe Epicuriouscom

ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Finely grind the almonds in a food processor.
• With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a smooth pale cream. Beat in the zests and almond extract. Add the ground almonds and mix very well.
• With clean beaters, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the egg and almond mixture (the mixture is thick, so that you will need to turn it over quite a bit into the egg whites).
• Grease an 11-inch springform pan, preferably nonstick, with butter and dust it with flour. Pour in the cake batter, and bake into a preheated 350°F for 40 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch. Let cool before turning out.
• Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar. Or, if you like, cut a St. James cross out of paper. Place it in the middle of the cake, and dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, then remove the paper.

CHINESE RESTAURANT ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Cut in the lard until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add egg and almond extract. Mix well.
• Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Set them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place an almond on top of each cookie and press down to flatten slightly.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the cookies are golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.

SUNSHINE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9-inch pie plate.
• Whisk eggs, granulated sugar, almond extract, and salt in a large bowl until frothy and pale, about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup flour and stir until incorporated. Pour into prepared pie plate. Top with almonds and pearl sugar, if using.
• Bake cake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool slightly before serving.
• Do ahead:
• Cake can be made 1 day ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

ALMOND CAKES

Steps:

• Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Brush molds with melted butter and lightly dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
• Stir together flour (3 tablespoons) and salt in a small bowl.
• Beat together softened butter and granulated sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in almond paste and vanilla until combined well, then beat in egg until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
• Divide batter among molds or muffin cups, spreading evenly, then transfer to a baking sheet (not necessary if using muffin pan).
• Bake cakes until just firm and edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely, about 5 minutes. Turn cakes right side up and dust tops with confectioners sugar just before serving.