French Almond Cake

Ahhhh... with Dad's birthday today, instead of the usual bakewell tart, I thought i'd try something a little different... I found this fab recipe by Linda Collister from her Easy Cake Recipe book.  I read a lot about the almonds in the cake perhaps burning around the edges of the cake, so I tried a bit of forward preparation with foil over the top and a hole in the centre - worked just as well... :-)  Also, I replaced the vanilla essence with almond essence to extenuate the almond flavouring which goes down very well in my house! 

Happy Birthday Dad.... :-) 

Ingredients

8" cake pan

110g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and leave to soften

140g caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

90g ground almonds

40g self-raising flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon flaked almonds for sprinkling

Method
1.Pre-heat oven at 180C. Grease with butter and flour the sides of an 8" cake pan, line the base with parchment paper, set aside.

2.Place butter, sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl, add almond powder, flour, milk, almond extract then beat with an electric mixer. When light and fluffy, spoon into the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top.

3.Bake at 180degC for 35 mins, or until the sponge just springs back when pressed (check when skewer inserted comes out clean.) (
Important Note: Cover the top with foil.  You can make a hole in the centre.  Leave foil on cake for about 15-20mins into baking to prevent the top from burning.

4.Run a thin bladed knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.

            Recipe source: adapted from Easy Cakes by Linda Collister