Sunday, April 1, 2012
Nut Cake with Orange Salad
Joel made this fantastic cake, a variation on a cake in the A16 cookbook (we are going to have to eat there when we are in San Francisco in May)
1 1/3 cups unsalted pecans
1 1/3 cups blanched whole almonds
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 lemons
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon "00" flour or all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
ORANGE SALAD
3 mandarin oranges
2 Valencia, navel, or blood oranges
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I prefer Brown Cow Non-Fat Vanilla Yogurt)
Preparation
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 300°F. Butter a 4-by-8-inch loaf
pan. Then, using a sifter or a fine-mesh strainer, dust it with flour,
tapping out the excess.
In a food process, combine the pistachios and almonds and pulse until
finely ground. Set aside.
Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Grate the
zest from the lemons directly into the bowl. Fit the mixer with the
paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or
until smooth and creamy. Mix in the vanilla just until incorporated.
On low speed, gradually add the nuts and mix just until incorporated.
Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just
until incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt and mix just until
incorporated.
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a skewer
inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 45
minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, run
a paring knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake sides,
invert the cake onto a plate, and lift off the pan. At this point, the
cake can be served warm or allowed to cool completely before being
sliced and reheated.
To make the orange salad, cut a slice off the top and bottom of 1
orange, stand the orange upright, and cut downward to remove the rind
and pith in thick strips. Cut the orange crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick
slices, capturing any juice. Repeat with all of the remaining oranges.
Set the oranges slices aside until needed.
Gently heat the marmalade in a pot over low heat for about 3 minutes,
or until syrupy. Add any captured orange juice along with the lemon
juice to the marmalade. Remove the pot from the heat and add 1 to 2
tablespoons water to think the marmalade to the consistency of a
vinaigrette. Let cool.
To serve, preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the cake into generous slices
and place on a baking sheet. Bake the slices, turning them over once,
for about 5 minutes, or until warm and slightly toasted on both sides.
Place 4 or 5 orange slices on each plate and drizzle generously with
the marmalade syrup. Place the warm pieces of cake next to the orange
slices and top with a dollop of yogurt. Serve immediately.
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