Ground Almond Suger Cake Decorating

Print me

Introduction

It's astonishing how buttery this cake tastes, given that there is not a gram of butter in it. The flour is replaced with ground almonds - and cooked, cooled, pureed fruit provides moistness and flavour.

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

As featured in

FEAST

2004

Apple and Almond Cake — Photo by James Merrell

As featured in

FEAST

2004

Ingredients

Yields: 12 slices

Metric Cups

For the Apple Puree

3 tart eating apples (such as Braeburns)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons caster sugar

For the Cake

1 splash of vegetable oil to grease tin
8 large eggs
325 grams ground almonds
275 grams caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
50 grams flaked almonds

To Decorate

1 teaspoon icing sugar

For the Apple Puree

3 tart eating apples (such as Braeburns)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons superfine sugar

For the Cake

1 splash of vegetable oil to grease tin
8 large eggs
3¼ cups almond meal
1¾ cups superfine sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup sliced almonds

To Decorate

1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar

Method

Peel, core and chop the apples roughly. Put them in a saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar and bring the pan to a bubble over a medium heat. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes or until you can mash the apple to a rough puree with a wooden spoon or fork. (You should have about 285g / 1 generous cup of puree.) Leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/180ºC/160ºC Fan/350ºF; oil a 25cm / 10 inch springform tin with almond or a flavourless vegetable oil and line the bottom with baking parchment.
Put the cooled puree in the processor with the eggs, ground almonds, caster sugar and 1 tablespoon - or generous squeeze - of lemon juice and blitz to a puree. Pour and scrape, with a rubber spatula for ease, into the prepared tin, sprinkle the flaked almonds on top, and bake for 45 minutes. It's worth checking after 35 minutes, as ovens do vary, and you might well find its cooked earlier - or indeed you may need to give a few minutes longer.
Put on a wire rack to cool slightly, then spring open. This cake is best served slightly warm, though still good cold.
As you bring it to the table, push a teaspoon of icing sugar through a fine sieve to give a light dusting.

Peel, core and chop the apples roughly. Put them in a saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar and bring the pan to a bubble over a medium heat. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes or until you can mash the apple to a rough puree with a wooden spoon or fork. (You should have about 285g / 1 generous cup of puree.) Leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/180ºC/160ºC Fan/350ºF; oil a 25cm / 10 inch springform tin with almond or a flavourless vegetable oil and line the bottom with baking parchment.
Put the cooled puree in the processor with the eggs, almond meal, superfine sugar and 1 tablespoon - or generous squeeze - of lemon juice and blitz to a puree. Pour and scrape, with a rubber spatula for ease, into the prepared tin, sprinkle the sliced almonds on top, and bake for 45 minutes. It's worth checking after 35 minutes, as ovens do vary, and you might well find its cooked earlier - or indeed you may need to give a few minutes longer.
Put on a wire rack to cool slightly, then spring open. This cake is best served slightly warm, though still good cold.
As you bring it to the table, push a teaspoon of confectioners' sugar through a fine sieve to give a light dusting.

Try This Tip

Get More Juice From Lemons

Asked and Answered

Apricot And Almond Cake With Almond Paste

Tell us what you think

What 23 Others have said

Just made it for the first time! Yummy

Posted by Lucas1951 on 3rd April 2021
Posted by Debbienix on 31st March 2021
I made this last year for Passover and doing it again today! Delicious and easy which are perfect for a busy holiday.

Posted by lbcain on 27th March 2021
I just love this cake. I made only half the portion, with 4 eggs, since I have a small family. The recipe worked still fine.

Posted by TinaKalayil on 9th August 2020
This is one of my all-time favorite Nigella recipes. I like to eat this cake warm with a cup of milky tea. It is so comforting on a cold winter night. I find the recipe perfect and would not change a thing.

Posted by Arvona on 8th April 2020
I've baked this a few times, the first time following the original recipe then afterwards using only 190g of sugar and 6 eggs (maintaining the original quantity of almonds). It's still deliciously moist and sweet enough for my fairly sweet tooth. I also add a drop of rum or calvados to the mixture.

Posted by Anne48 on 3rd November 2019
I added 1/4 tsp baking powder but I don't think it was needed. Very moist and yummy cake. But the key is to whizz the ingredients in the blender as per the instructions...don't miss that step!

Posted by Deenz on 3rd May 2019
I made this in two separate 8 inches cake tins, then created a filling with leftover lemon curd, mascarpone and whipped cream. Sprinkled powdered sugar on top. This has become one of my favorite cakes!

Posted by Joseevt47 on 22nd April 2019
Add stevia if you are worried about the sugar.

Posted by maggiemay51 on 8th April 2018
This works very well halved and baked in a nine-inch springform. I added a teaspoon of vanilla. It's a great way to use up overripe mushy pears. A toothpick will lie to you about whether it's done, as will the touch-test because it's so dense; leave it in longer than you think you need to and take it out when the top is golden brown. Toast up slices of it for crunchy edges to contrast with the fudgy texture.

Posted by rosefox on 21st September 2017
Has anyone made this cake and successfully cut the amount of sugar used? I am struggling with the idea of adding this volume of sugar.

Posted by twittrock on 13th September 2017
I needed a gluten free Victoria sponge recipe for my daughter's second birthday. I made this recipe without the flaked almonds on top - also folding in the separated egg whites whisked, as others have suggested - and then once cooled cut in half to fill with whipped cream and jam, and topped with whipped cream and strawberries. It was delicious. So light and fresh, tall and stable, no sinking in the middle and everyone loved it. Better than the original Victoria sponge I think. One change would be to bake it in two sandwich tins not one big tin, as it creates such a volume of cake it got quite dark on the outside by the time it was cooked in the middle.

Posted by Richiau on 13th August 2017