Lemon Almond Cake Recipes

LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• For the curd, combine zest, juice, sugar and eggs in a heatproof bowl, and beat well. Add butter, and place over a saucepan full of simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until mixture thickens into curd, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, and press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch spring-form pan with 1 tablespoon butter, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour, shaking out excess.
• With an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter and 1 cup sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt, and stir in. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat or the cake will be tough. Add eggs and ground almonds to batter, and mix well.
• Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons lemon curd around perimeter of batter, leaving a 1-inch border, and taking care to space drops evenly. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons curd into center of batter. Refrigerate remaining curd for another use. Sprinkle cake with toasted almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste.
• Bake until cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick inserted into cake (not curd) comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool on rack 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan, and cool completely.
• Whip cream with almond liqueur. Present cake at table, and offer whipped cream on the side.

FLOURLESS ITALIAN ALMOND-LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Wash the lemons well. Add them to a pot with enough water to cover and simmer for 1 hour.
• Drain the lemons and allow them to cool enough to handle. They will look a bit "deflated," while the cooking water will be pale yellow and quite bitter.
• Trim the ends off each lemon and cut them in half crosswise. Scoop out and discard the seeds.
• Coarsely chop the lemons-peels and all.
• Put the lemons through a food mill with a coarse disk.
• Mill the lemons again with a fine disk in a food mill.
• Strain the lemon pulp through a fine-mesh strainer. Rub the lemon paste against the mesh with the back of a wooden spoon or the bottom of a ladle.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Soak a sheet of parchment paper with water, then crumple it and wring it out. Use it to line a 9-inch (22-centimeter) springform pan .
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and granulated sugar until pale yellow and frothy, about 3 minutes.
• Beat in the lemon cream and almond meal.
• In a separate, clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites to firm peaks .
• Gently fold the whites and baking powder into the lemon mixture.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out a bit sticky but without batter clinging to it. Keep an eye on the cake during the last few minutes because it can brown suddenly.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely before releasing it from the springform pan and placing it on a serving platter.
• Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar.

LEMON ALMOND CAKE WITH CRANBERRY GLAZE

Steps:

• For the lemon almond cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, almond meal, poppy seeds, baking powder, salt, baking soda and zest in a medium bowl. Whisk together the yogurt and lemon juice in a separate small bowl until very smooth. Whisk together the granulated sugar and olive oil in a large bowl until combined. Add the eggs to the olive oil mixture, one at a time, whisking very well after each, then stir in the almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and yogurt mixture to the olive oil mixture in three alternating additions, whisking after each until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the cranberry glaze: Combine the cranberries with 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until the cranberries start to break down and release their juices (you can help this process along by smashing them with a rubber spatula), 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the cranberries and their juices into a fine-mesh sieve placed over a bowl. Press the mixture through the sieve with a spatula, making sure to scrape off the bottom of the sieve and adding that to the bowl as well. Add the powdered sugar and salt to the bowl and mix until it comes together into a spreadable glaze. (It will seem like a lot of sugar at first but it will eventually incorporate.) If the glaze is too thick, add a couple drops of water until it's thin enough to spread. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
• To decorate: Spread the glaze over the top of the cake, then sprinkle with sliced almonds, rose petals, fresh thyme leaves, sliced cranberries and sprinkles.

LEMON ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar and beat in the eggs, one at a time, before mixing in the lemon juice and zest.
• Mix flours, baking powder and salt before mixing into the wet ingredients.
• Pour into a greased 9 inch baking pan and sprinkle on the almonds before baking in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the top is lightly golden brown and a toothpick pushed into the centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• Let the cake cool for 20 minutes, puncture it all over the top with a thin knife and pour the lemon syrup over the cake and let it soak in before serving warm.
• Simmer the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar has dissolved.

LEMON ALMOND CAKE WITH LEMON GLAZE

Steps:

• Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Put 2 lemons in a medium pot and cover with water by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil, partly cover pot, and let simmer for 40 minutes, or until very tender.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer lemons to a bowl. Let cool. Use a spoon to break open lemons and remove the pits. Purée lemons in a mini food processor or blender, scraping down the sides frequently.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Zest remaining lemon into a medium bowl. (Save the rest of the lemon for glaze.) Stir in almond meal, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
• Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until very foamy. With the mixer still going, gradually beat in 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Slide beaten whites onto a large plate.
• In the same mixing bowl (you don't need to wipe it out), beat egg yolks and remaining 1 cup sugar until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Beat in lemon purée, almond meal mixture and almond extract. Using a rubber spatula, fold in melted butter.
• Fold a third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it. Fold in another third until well incorporated. Finally fold in remaining egg whites, taking care not to overmix. (A few white streaks are O.K.) Spread batter into prepared pan.
• Bake until top of cake is well browned and it springs back when lightly pressed in the center, 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• When cake is almost cool but still slightly warm (after about 30 to 45 minutes), make the glaze. Juice the zested lemon into a bowl and stir in confectioners' sugar until you have a thick but pourable glaze (if it's too thick, stir in a few drops of water). Pour glaze over slightly warm cake and let cool completely.

LEMON-ALMOND BUTTER CAKE

Steps:

• Combine the lemon zest and juice in a nonreactive saucepan with the sugar and eggs and beat well. Add the butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens into curd. Be sure to keep scraping the bottom of the pan during the few minutes this takes you; you don't want the eggs to scramble before the curd forms. If you're the nervous type, make the curd in a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water (the bowl shouldn't touch the water). The curd will take just a little longer to thicken, about 5 minutes. Strain the crud into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface so a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and dust it with 1 tablespoon of the flour.
• Cream the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large bowl with 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Sift the remaining 1 cup flour, the baking powder, and salt together and stir into the creamed butter.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they start to foam. Do not overbeat, or the cake will be tough. Add the eggs and ground almonds to the flour and butter mixture, mixing well.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8 individual tablespoons of lemon curd evenly around the outside of the cake, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Try to place the curd so there's an even amount of cake batter between each dollop of curd. Drop 3 tablespoons curd in the center. Refrigerate any remaining curd for another use (hint: breakfast toast). Sprinkle the top of the cake with sliced almonds and 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, according to taste.
• Bake until the cake is toasty brown on top and a toothpick or knife inserted into the cake comes out clean (be sure not to insert it near the curd), about 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and let cool completely on a rack.
• If serving the cake with whipped cream, add the almond liqueur to the heavy cream and beat until the cream is stiff. Sift a thin, even layer of confectioners' sugar over the top of the cake. Present the cake at the table and offer the almond whipped cream on the side.

ALMOND-LEMON POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-in. round baking pan with 1 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar; set aside. Place the almonds and sugar in a blender or food processor; cover and process until finely ground., In a small bowl, cream remaining butter; beat in almond mixture until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream and lemon zest. Combine the flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with lemon juice., Pour into prepared pan. , Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. , For topping, in a heavy saucepan, combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Sprinkle cake with confectioners' sugar. Serve with berry topping.