This cake has no flour and no fuss. It is the kind of thing that turns up at the end of a Sunday lunch in Sicily, sitting on the counter without ceremony. The texture is closer to a frangipane than a sponge: dense, a little sticky, and deeply almond from start to finish.
The structure comes from the eggs and the almonds alone. There is no flour to interfere, which means the almonds carry everything. The quality of what you start with matters more here than in most baking. We use chopped almonds because grinding them ourselves, rather than buying blanched meal, gives the cake a slightly more rustic texture and a fresher flavor.
It keeps for three days at room temperature, covered loosely. By day two it has usually improved: the crumb tightens slightly and the almond flavor deepens.
Set servings and units first. You can change them anytime.
Preheat the oven to 340 degrees F. Butter a 8 in round cake tin and line the base with parchment.
Pulse the 8.8 oz of Gusta chopped almonds in a food processor until they reach a fine meal, about 30 to 40 seconds. Stop before they become a paste. Some texture is good.
In a bowl, beat the 4 eggs and 7 oz of caster sugar together for 4 minutes with a hand mixer or stand mixer, until pale, thick, and ribboned. The volume should roughly double.
Add the almond meal, melted butter, lemon zest, almond extract, and salt. Fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined. The batter will be thick.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread it level.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the cake is set in the center, a deep golden brown on top, and has pulled away slightly from the sides of the tin. A skewer inserted into the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before unmolding. It will sink a little as it cools: this is normal and correct.
Dust lightly with icing sugar just before serving.
You made Torta di Mandorle. Time to eat.
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The cake is done when the center is set but still has a slight wobble, like a just-baked cheesecake. If you overbake it past this point it will become dry and crumbly instead of moist. An oven thermometer is worth using here: oven temperatures vary and this cake has no flour to buffer against heat. It keeps well for 3 days wrapped at room temperature, and is good with a spoonful of apricot or fig preserve on the side.
Each Gusta product is hand-selected and imported direct from Italy. Add what you need, or grab the whole set in one click.
Six Italian regions. Nothing reformulated. Imported direct.
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