This almond chocolate cake recipe is from my sister. It’s the perfect cake to make on a lazy Saturday morning. You only need a few ingredients, it’s extremely easy, you don’t need any equipment, bake time is quick, and cleanup is a cinch. Hence the name she’s given it, The Saturday Cake. It’s not too sweet and EXTREMELY MOIST. It has a cake like exterior but take a bite and you’ll see that the centre is anything but crumbly. Instead it is dense, fudgy (almost like a brownie), slightly nutty and grainy from the almonds, and oh so good. Especially the day after!
I took the cake to a dinner party at my Dad’s girlfriend’s house. We stuffed ourselves silly with finger lickin’ good ribs. Oooogh, they were soooo tasty! She made 7 SLABS! They couldn’t all be cooked in the oven at the same time so it was served staggered and every time I thought I was done eating, a fresh batch would come out of the oven and I would just have to have more. Sticky fingers and all.
Many of us finally surrendered after the 6th slab but somehow, just somehow, we all found room for dessert. When I brought out the cake, everyone forgot they were full and suddenly we could all eat again. And eat the cake we did. Make this every Saturday and you’ll be able to have your cake and eat it too.
How do you like to enjoy your Saturdays?
– SS
Before you get started, here are a few tips:
It’s so quick and easy to make your own whipped cream. You can top your cake with cream and berries if you wish (simple way to make any cake look good), I decided not to because I was too lazy to go to the store to buy cream. It’s Saturday, remember?
Here’s a nifty little trick, how to line a round cake pan with parchment paper.
If you don’t have a wire rack to cool the cake on, do what I did. Pull out one of the racks in your oven (or toaster oven) and cool the cake on that instead.
Almonds are really good for you and I love to use them in both cooking and baking. I always have a bag of them at home which I keep in the freezer. Nuts go rancid quickly so make sure you store yours in the freezer.
Saturday Cake
Recipe from Karla Sy
Makes an 8″ cake
5 oz (1 1/2 cups) ground almonds (or almond flour)
icing sugar for decoration
What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 inch pie plate with parchment paper, grease with butter and add a dusting of cocoa powder (if you can, put the pan into the freezer for a minute or two for the greasing to get a little cold before putting the batter in). Pull out one mixing bowl and a heavy spatula or wooden spoon.
2. Mix almonds and sugar together and then add the melted butter.
3. Using a heavy spatula or wooden spoon, beat together almonds, sugar and melted butter until it pulls together.
4. Add beaten eggs in three batches, beating well with each addition, until mixture thickens.
5. Add vanilla or almond extract, continue beating until like very thick cream. It should thickly coat the back of the spoon.
6. Sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder and blend well.
7. Pour mixture to the pie plate and smooth out the top.
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until top has crusted and the sides have pulled in a bit.
9. Remove from oven and let cool down completely.
10. Carefully flip the cake out of the pan and let it rest upside on wire racks. Once cooled completely, transfer to a serving plate
11. Dust the top with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and berries.
