Stella continued the "surprise me!" birthday cake tradition we've had going around here, although I asked her to narrow the options a bit. Last year I made her a surprise cake that she didn't love, and even though she was very polite about it I was hoping to spark a little more enthusiasm this year. She went through a couple of my cookbooks, marking possibilities with post-its.
I started with an almond cake that I've probably made a dozen times now. It's easy, as long as you're using machinery to do the whisking, and its list of ingredients is short and gluten-free. It bakes up into a cake that's flavorful and tender. You can take it in a slew of different directions if you're so inclined. So if you're looking for a new birthday cake recipe, here you go:
Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9-inch springform pan. If you are going to want to remove it from the base, you'll want to line it beforehand.
Start with six eggs; separate four of them. Beat the whites until you have soft peaks; add 2 T. sugar and keep beating until the peaks stiffen up. Next, beat your four egg yolks and your two whole eggs with a half-cup of sugar until they reach the ribbon stage. Gently fold in 150g ground almonds, the beaten egg whites, and the flavorings of your choice (recommended: 1/4 t. salt, zest of a lemon, tiny dribble of almond extract; I've also used orange zest, vanilla extract, and I know that I once did a coffee version but perhaps I only put coffee in the filling). Scrape it all into your springform and bake for about 50 minutes. Do not peek; it may come crashing down because it's mostly eggs and air. After it's cool, you can split it for filling and frosting.
Today I just filled and frosted with lightly sweetened whipped cream piped into a zillion stars, but I've told you before about various versions of this cake. I've done adventurous gelatin-stabilized sabayons and I don't even know what else in the middle. Whether you go simple or complicated with the filling, this cake is easy to split horizontally because the eggs lend a helpful degree of tensile strength to the layers.
She loved the poncho and wore it all day, and after she asked for second helpings of cake she ate every last bite. In between I think she had a lovely birthday.
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