Lemon Marzipan Cake
serves 12-16
Recipe from Washington Post
This Lemon Marzipan Cake can be served with a raspberry coulis or the center of the finished cake can be filled with fresh strawberries.
Read more about this recipe at the Washington Post.
ingredients
2 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted twice, plus additional for preparing the baking pan
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 ounces almond paste
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for preparing the baking pan
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
timer
prep: 30 minutes
total: 1 hour 45 minutes
tools
10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan
waxed paper
sifter
2 large mixing bowls
electric mixer
rubber spatula
toothpick
wire rack
fine mesh strainer
instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 300F. Generously butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan. To make sure that the inside of the baking pan is coated to prevent the cake from sticking, brush the inside of the pan with melted butter, then refrigerate the pan for 5 minutes so the butter will harden, enabling you to see any missed spots. Brush with more melted butter and dust immediately with flour.
2. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the almond paste until smooth. Add the sugar to combine thoroughly. Add the butter and beat until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Then add the egg yolks and vanilla extract until well combined.
4. Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternately add the sifted flour mixture to the batter in 3 increments and the sour cream in 2 increments, remaining on low speed and mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest, and set aside.
5. In another large bowl using clean beaters or the electric mixer's whip attachment, beat the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry. Set aside.
6. Return the bowl of batter to the mixer, and, on low speed, add about one-third of the beaten egg whites to the batter until just combined. By hand, using a rubber spatula, gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter.
7. Pour the incorporated batter into the prepared Bundt or tube pan and bake at 300F for 1 to 11/4 hours, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
8. Transfer to a rack to cool, letting the cake remain in the pan for 5 minutes. Then place a rack on top of the pan and invert the cake and rack together, carefully removing the pan, and let the cake cool completely, right side up. Using a fine-mesh strainer, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar.
