This delicious cake comes to us courtesy of chef Levana Kirschenbaum. Levana is the author of several cookbooks, including Levana Cooks Dairy-Free and The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen, and she is a well-known chef in the NYC area, offering very popular cooking classes.

Levana's cake is definitely an all-occasion dessert that can be easily adapted to suit a variety of special diets. It is naturally dairy-free and soy-free, and Levana even includes a tested gluten-free option. For Passover, Levana has the following recommendation: "Those of you who use Matza cake meal for Passover can substitute it for the cornmeal, and use potato starch instead of the flour."

For an even more indulgent, Passover-approved dessert, see Levana's dairy-free Chocolate Pecan Torte with Chocolate Glaze Recipe. But first, enjoy the recipe for this tender almond cake below ...

Note on Eggs: This recipe is pretty reliant on the eggs - I'd be hard pressed to try and substitute them here. If you are someone who confuses eggs with dairy, don't fret, you're not alone. See the explanation of eggs here. 

Recipe: Semolina Almond Cake

Summary: This improbable ingredient combination results in an incredibly moist and fragrant cake. It is important to use a shallow mold here, like a pie plate, no higher than 2 inches high, so the syrup that is poured at the end of baking reaches all the way to the bottom. 

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs, whites and yolks divided
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• 1-1/2 Cups Finely Ground Almonds (use a food processor or spice grinder)
• 1 Cup Fine Semolina Flour (Gluten-free: Use fine cornmeal)
• 1/3 Cup Flour, any flour (Gluten-free or all-purpose)
• 3/4 Cup Light Agave Nectar or Honey
• Juice and Zest of 2 Lemons
• 1 Cup Sliced Almonds, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 °F
2. With an electric mixer, whip the egg whites and salt at high speed until soft peaks form.
3. Add the sugar gradually and whip until stiff.
4. Switch to low speed, and allowing only enough time to combine the ingredients, beating in one ingredient at a time, just a few seconds each time, the yolks, then the oil, etc… until all ingredients are incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into a greased 10 inch round baking pan, and bake 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. While the cake is baking, heat the agave or honey and lemon juice plus zest in a saucepan over a low flame until just warm (or microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute)
7. When you remove the cake from the oven, immediately poke the cake all over with a toothpick or skewer, and pour the syrup all over the cake.
8. If desired, sprinkle cake with sliced almonds.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 40 minute(s)

Diet type: Vegetarian, Dairy free, optionally Gluten free, Peanut free, Soy free, optionally Wheat free

Number of servings (yield): 12
 

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved