Almond Cake with Lemon Cream

About the dish

From the chapter "Cakes for dessert" in Henriette Schønberg Erken's Stor kokebok (1914). An almond base without wheat flour, bound with potato flour, split into two layers with a cooked lemon cream (crème anglaise type) between the layers.

How to make it

1. 1

   The almonds

   Blanch the almonds, slip off the skins, and grind them fine together with the bitter almonds.

2. 2

   The egg batter

   Whip the powdered sugar, 6 egg yolks, and 1 tbsp water pale and airy, 10–15 minutes with a mixer (the original says 1 hour by hand).

3. 3

   Mix the batter

   Stir in the ground almonds, grated lemon zest, and lemon juice, and sift in the dried, cold potato flour. Whip the whites stiff and fold them gently in last.

4. 4

   Baking

   Pour the batter into a greased and coated loaf pan. Bake in a hot oven (about 180 °C (355 °F)) for about 40 minutes, until the cake is baked through.

5. 5

   Cooling

   Turn the cake out, let it cool completely, and split it into two layers.

6. 6

   The lemon cream

   Grate the lemon zest against the sugar cube (or stir grated zest into the sugar). Add the squeezed lemon juice, wine, water, and the egg yolks. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

7. 7

   Cook the cream

   Whisk the mixture over low heat until the cream thickens — it must not boil. Pour it out and stir until cold. Fold in the whipped cream if desired.

8. 8

   Assemble and decorate

   Spread the cream between the cake layers. Glaze the cake and decorate with preserved fruit and stiffly whipped cream or meringue.