I made this recipe as a mini cake, big enough for 2 or 3 people, but by all means expand it out x3 for a conventional cake size. It’s gluten free, squidgy and marzipan-ish, but still light and fluffy, and the cardamom adds a fragrance that perfectly compliments the almonds. I made this in the air fryer, which pleased me exceedingly, but you could use a regular oven
- 2 eggs
- 70 g caster sugar
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 70 g ground almonds
- 1 tbsp GF flour or plain flour
- Seeds of 5 cardamom pods, lightly ground up
- Pinch of salt
- 30g flaked almonds
- If using a regular oven, pre-heat to 160C fan (180C)
- Line a small round baking tin with baking paper – the easiest way to do this is to tear off an appropriately-sized piece and then scrunch it up. Flatten it out and it will press into the corners and around the edges much more effectively
- Separate the eggs and whisk the whites into stiff peaks in a small bowl
- In separate bowl, beat together the sugar, yolks and almond extract until mixture turns pale yellow
- In another separate bowl (trust me, it’s worth the washing up!) mix together the ground almonds, flour, cardamom and salt
- You’re going to combine everything in the egg yolk/sugar bowl, but one spoonful at a time of egg white and then ground almonds, folding them together between additions. The batter should be palest yellow and fluffy when you’re done
- Spoon gently into the lined tin, top with flaked almonds, and bake for 20 mins (either in the oven or air fryer)
- Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then pick it up using the paper and cool on a rack (paper in situ)
- Serve with raspberries and marscapone. Or just eat it directly from the tin with your hands, you don’t have to be fancy
Sophie cooks 