One of my favorite things about marrying William was getting all of his mom’s amazing recipes! She shared this elegantly simple almond cake with me a few summers ago, and I’ve been making it ever since. Originally it had both gluten and dairy in it, but after a little experimenting (and a lot of happy taste-testers!) I was able to sub out both of these to fit our dietary restrictions.
Because William and I love it so much (and because we desperately wanted to cut into a cake we could actually eat!), I made a three layered version of this cake for our wedding. The caterer who made the cake for the other guests decorated ours as well, so it blended in beautifully. Now we’re just counting down the months so we can eat a little more! But in the mean time, I had a friend over recently and made a single layer of this cake, topping it with a dust of powdered sugar and toasted almonds.
Almond Wedding Cake
-3/4 c. sugar
-I stick Earth Balance (or butter), softened
-8 oz almond paste, crumbled very finely
-3 eggs
-2 tsp kirsch, triple sec, or grand mariner (optional)
-1/2 tsp almond extract (bit more when I leave out the liqueur)
-1/4 c. all purpose gluten free flour (or regular all purpose flour)
-1/3 tsp baking powder
-powdered sugar, toasted almonds, and/or fresh berries to top, if desired
Combine sugar, Earth Balance, and almond paste in a large bowl, and cream together with a mixer until extremely smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then add the extract and liqueur. Sift the flour and baking powder and fold it into the sugar mixture until just mixed through.
Pour into an 8-9 inch round cake pan that has been buttered (Earth Balanced?) and floured. I also like to line mine with parchment paper for good measure.
Bake at 325° for 30-40 mins. Check the cake at about 20 minutes to see if it’s browning and needs to be covered lightly with a piece of foil. Let the cake cool completely before you invert it onto serving platter and dust with powdered sugar and cover with toasted almonds. Serve with fresh berries on the side. Enjoy!
Adeline Alley 