The February 2011 issue of Bon Appétit contained not only a great brownie recipe, but also a recipe in the RSVP column that I knew I had to try: an "Almond Cake with Boysenberry Jam" from New York City restaurant Locanda Verde. The current pastry chef at Locanda Verde is Karen DeMasco, author of the fantastic cookbook Craft of Baking, so I had a hunch this would be a great cake (and, as I have previously mentioned, I don't think I've ever met an almond dessert that I didn't like).
As a bonus, you can put this cake together pretty quickly. You start by running some almond paste and granulated sugar through the food processor. You then cream the almond paste-sugar mixture with some softened butter and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next, you add in eggs, fold in the sifted dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, and salt), and bake. Once the cake is cooled, you split the cake and spread boysenberry jam between the layers. With a dusting of powdered sugar (and the recipe suggests sweetened whipped cream as well, although I skipped it), the cake is ready to serve.
This cake has a soft, granular crumb and is incredibly moist. The flavor is very almond-y, with the jam adding a nice burst of fruit flavor. The cake doesn't have any fancy bells and whistles, but is simply delicious.
Recipe: "Almond Cake with Boysenberry Jam," from Locanda Verde, featured in the February 2011 Bon Appétit RSVP column. Unfortunately, this recipe is not available on epicurious.com.
As a bonus, you can put this cake together pretty quickly. You start by running some almond paste and granulated sugar through the food processor. You then cream the almond paste-sugar mixture with some softened butter and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next, you add in eggs, fold in the sifted dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, and salt), and bake. Once the cake is cooled, you split the cake and spread boysenberry jam between the layers. With a dusting of powdered sugar (and the recipe suggests sweetened whipped cream as well, although I skipped it), the cake is ready to serve.
This cake has a soft, granular crumb and is incredibly moist. The flavor is very almond-y, with the jam adding a nice burst of fruit flavor. The cake doesn't have any fancy bells and whistles, but is simply delicious.
Recipe: "Almond Cake with Boysenberry Jam," from Locanda Verde, featured in the February 2011 Bon Appétit RSVP column. Unfortunately, this recipe is not available on epicurious.com.
Comments
Many thanks,
Clare.