Almond Cake

Every Saturday, there is a farmer's market about 5 minutes from my house. For as long as I have lived here, my sister and I have loved going to the farmer's market to get tamales and the most amazing yet simple almond cake! A lovely French woman sells her rustic baked goods. She has a lot of vegan and gluten free items with a wonderfully old world feel to them. I have always loved the almond cakes because not only are they delicious, they are beautiful as well. She stencils on beautiful powdered sugar designs like hearts and peace signs. I finally have come up with a recipe that mimics this cake pretty closely. While nothing compares to the joy of going to the farmer's market on a beautiful sunny Saturday and buying this cake from the sweet lady, it is nice to know if the craving hits I don't have to wait a whole week!

Almond Cake
Makes 6 large muffins, or 1 0-inch round

4 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups ground almond meal
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 6-muffin tin or a 9-inch round pan.

Whisk the egg yolks, brown sugar and vanilla extract until sugar dissolves and the yolks are thick and light in color. Add the almond meal and salt, stir to combine.

Whisk the egg whites till frothy, gradually adding the granulated sugar. Continue whisking to soft peaks.

Add about a quarter of the egg whites to the almond mixture. The almond mixture will be fairly stiff so to start off, just mix in the egg whites vigorously to loosen the mixture. Continue to fold the remaining egg whites into the almonds. Pour into prepared pans. For muffin cups, fill about halfway and bake for 15 minutes. For 9-inch round, bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool and top with powdered sugar.