Almond Cake

Name: Almond Cake
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 2 8-inch cakes, 8 servings each
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 sticks butter, softened, more for buttering pan; 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (measured after sifting); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 7-ounce tube almond paste; 4 egg yolks, room temperature; 1 teaspoon almond extract; 1 cup sour cream; 1 teaspoon baking soda; Confectioners’ sugar, for sifting over cake

Recipe from Elizabeth Friend

Adapted by Amanda Hesser

Almond Cake — Craig Lee for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Rating: 5(2,118)
Comments: Read comments

This exquisite recipe came to The Times in a 2001 article by Amanda Hesser about the first meal her now mother-in-law, Elizabeth Friend, prepared for her. The meal ended with this simple almond cake. Ms. Hesser wrote: “It had a crust, fragile like a dry leaf, that led to a moist, downy layer of ground almonds and sugar. It was a perfect dessert. And it punctuated one of the great meals of my life.” It's not the prettiest cake in the world – Ms. Friend called it “the Shar-Pei of cakes” because it crumbles on the edges and falls in the middle – but it is flawless otherwise. If you care about looks, dust it with confectioners’ sugar and top it with fresh berries as we've done in the picture. It also improves with age and can be made 1 to 2 weeks ahead. Store it covered in or out of the fridge. Finally, this recipe makes two 8-inch cakes, so give one away or freeze one for a rainy day. —Amanda Hesser

Featured in: FOOD DIARY; Amateur Night

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Ingredients

Yield:2 8-inch cakes, 8 servings each

2sticks butter, softened, more for buttering pan
2cups sifted all-purpose flour (measured after sifting)
½teaspoon salt
1½cups granulated sugar
7-ounce tube almond paste
4egg yolks, room temperature
1teaspoon almond extract
1cup sour cream
1teaspoon baking soda
Confectioners’ sugar, for sifting over cake

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter sides and bottoms of 2 8-inch cake or springform pans; line sides and bottoms with parchment paper. Butter paper. Place pans in freezer.
Step 2
Sift flour and salt into a small bowl. Set aside. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat butter and granulated sugar at high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add almond paste, a little at a time at medium speed, and beat 8 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, and almond extract. Mix sour cream and baking soda and add to butter mixture. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add flour mixture, just until blended.
Step 3
Divide batter between prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake about 40 minutes to an hour, until tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed and cakes shrink from sides of the pans. Cool in pans on wire rack. Remove sides of pans and remove paper. When ready to serve, sift confectioners’ sugar on top and slice like pie.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

2,118 user ratings

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Comments

Jeff Johnson8 years ago

I love this. In 2001, I found the NYT magazine lying around in the Seattle airport and tore out the recipe pages. I still have them, right now they are stuck to the front of the fridge because I am about to make it again to send to a family member who has gotten it many times on her birthday. Only modifications: skimp a little on the sugar; be generous with the almond flavoring; yogurt instead of sour cream; all in one 10" pan.

CJ7 years ago

226 g butter 240g all-purpose flour 300g granulated sugar 200g almond paste 240g sour cream Hope this helps for bakers outside of US

The Best!4 years ago

I love this recipe so much. I make it all the time. It’s great to bring to a party or just to eat at home with the family for a nice treat. Or, since it makes two, do both! The is nearly perfect as-written but I do recommend slightly less sugar (I use just one cup). Also, no need to buy pricey almond paste: 1 cup almond flour (bulk section is a cheap way to buy), 1/2 cup powder sugar, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1 egg white, pinch of salt. Put all in a food processor and voila! 7 oz almond paste.

Alison2 weeks ago

Two questions. I am making this tomorrow, but I only have two 9-inch cake pans and one 8-inch spring form. How can I adapt this recipe or baking time for my options? Also, can you (or should you) substitute all or some of the wheat flour for almond flour?

kate2 months ago

I followed the recipe as written, using Odense almond paste which is packaged at 7oz. Used two 8” pans, one springform and one regular cake pan. Both cakes easily released from pans and fell dramatically. If I tasted blindfolded, I would say this is a tasty, moist butter cake; the almond flavor is virtually non detectable. Having made another almond cake for years, the recipe calling for whole eggs, no sour cream or almond extract, and 8 oz of paste (I always use Solo, which has a much better flavor profile than Odense), I’ve been able to solve the mixing and sinking problem by combining almond paste and sugar in the food processor first, then adding the butter, vanilla, and eggs. The dry ingredients are sifted over this mixture after it has been transferred to a mixing bowl. For this recipe, I combined wet ingredients in the food processor but in the order described ie, butter and sugar, then paste, eggs etc. I think this order contributes to the pronounced sinking of the cake.

Tatiana B2 months ago

Note to everyone. Make sure it’s completely cooled before moving it! I tried stacking them to make a 2 tiered cake and one of them was slight warm still (I know, I know- bad idea to begin with) and the center completely fell through.

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