Lemon, Ricotta & Almond Flourless Cake

By á-3900

(Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine)

Ingredients

• 120 grams of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups of caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1/4 cup of lemon zest
• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 1/2 cups of almond meal
• 300 grams of ricotta
• Flaked almonds
• Icing sugar

Details

Adapted from highwallsblog.com

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
Place the butter, 165 grams of the caster sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating in between each addition, until fully combined.
Add the almond meal and beat to combine. With a spoon or spatula, fold the ricotta through the almond meal mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (using a whisk attachment) until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
Add 1 third of the egg whites to the cake mixture and gently fold to combine/ Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.
Sprinkle the top with almond flakes (or place in a pattern) and place in the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes or until firm to touch.
Allow to cool completely in the cake tin. To serve, dust with a generous helping of icing sugar.

Notes on Caster Sugar from Nigella's website:
Caster sugar/castor sugar/superfine sugar is a fine form of granulated sugar. It is used in baking as it dissolves more quickly than granulated sugar. In the UK granulated sugar tends to have quite large granules so is not suitable for baking. However in the US granulated sugar tends to be finer and can be used for baking in some recipes, particularly if the butter and sugar are creamed together for a while at the beginning of the recipe. For meringues we would always recommend using caster or superfine sugar.
You can make your own caster sugar by grinding granulated sugar slightly in a food processor or blender (or a very clean coffee grinder). However you do need to be careful when doing this as it can be easy to end up with a sugar powder instead of finer granules.

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/apple-and-almond-cake-for-passover-and-any-other-time-3204