I started this recipe a week or so ago and made a few modifications along the way and now I'm quite happy with it.
It consists of an almond frangipane base which is filled with a Spanish style crema (custard) and finally it's served up with salted caramel ice cream and some spun caramel sugar.
Almond cake
- 300g ground almond
- 280g sugar
- 150g flour
- 290g butter
- lemon zest
- tsp vanilla
- 4 large eggs
- Mix almond, sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla in a bowl.
- Melt butter to almost liquid and add to the bowl.
- Whisk all together
- Add eggs one by one, still whisking until everything is combined.
Crema
- 500ml milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon rind
- 125g sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 40g corn flour
- Heat milk, cinnamon and lemon rind to almost boiling, and remove.
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar.
- Add a little cold milk to the corn flour, then add to the eggs.
- Slowly add the warm milk to the egg mix.
- Bring back to a medium heat, whisking constantly.
- Once you have a thick custard, remove from heat and let cool.
To put everything together, use a silicone mold. Mine is 10cm diameter. Fill the bottom with almond mix (piping bags help).
Then add a layer of crema, not all the way to the edge. And top with more almond mix. You can use a warm knife to spread it out.
Top with flaked almonds and bake at 175°C (357f) for 16 mins until lightly browned.
The spun sugar is simply, melted, but cooling, sugar, dip a whisk in and spin the handle between your hands. Not recommended for beginners. Start slowly if you try this!