cookie - Little Almond, Ricotta + Orange Blossom Cakes

By tinathorn

Ingredients

• 250 grams of thick ricotta from the delicatessen
• 4 eggs, separated
• 175 grams of sugar
• Zest of one orange
• One tablespoon of orange blossom water
• 250 grams of almond meal
• One teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Half a cup of slivered almonds
• An extra handful of sugar

Details

Adapted from lepiratelife.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Grease and line seven 8cm diameter little cake tins (or just one large one) with baking paper. In an electric mixer, beat the ricotta, egg yolks, vanilla, sugar, zest and orange blossom until creamy and smooth. Stir in the almond meal. In another bowl, whisk the egg-whites until marshmallowy soft peaks start to evolve. Slowly add the egg white mixture to the ricotta mixture, folding gently as you go. Divide the mixture into the pans. Bake for about half an hour, though after about fifteen minutes, sprinkle the cakes with the almonds and the extra sugar. (It’s best to place all the little tins on a larger baking tray, to avoid awkward tin shuffles and hand burns during said removal) The cakes will be ready when they are pale gold in colour and pass the skewer test. Allow them to cool a little in their tins, then remove and cool slightly on a wire rack.
Serve warm, with a little marscarpone, or yogurt if you’re feeling virtuous.

A note; I can sense that you are probably dubious at an alleged ‘rich’ cake containing no butter. As somebody who sees butter as an actual food item rather than a condiment or baking aid, I assure you that my first instincts were largely that of suspicion, but alas, I was proved wrong, and perhaps you will be too.

Another note; if you’ve boarded the orange blossom train, you might also want to try out this orange blossom and honey milk tart.