Chocolate-Covered Almond Cake

"This is a moist cake with nice flavor. It has several steps, but they are fairly simple. From the new Spanish table, posted for zwt3 prep time includes cooking and cooling times."
 
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photo by patti k. photo by patti k.
photo by patti k.
Ready In:
3hrs 55mins
Ingredients:
12
Yields:
1 cake
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ingredients

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directions

  • Make the almond cake - place the almonds and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a food processor and process till very finely ground.
  • Place the eggs in a warm mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat them till fluffy about 1 minute.
  • Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating at high speed till the eggs are pale yellow and approximately triple in volume, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Working in batches, beat in the almond mixture and the flour, alternating with the olive oil and milk.
  • Stir in the lemon zest and cinnamon.
  • Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with a circle of waxed paper.
  • Generously butter the paper and the sides of the pan.
  • Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and tap it on a counter to level the batter.
  • Bake the cake on the center rack until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
  • Let cake cool on a rack for about 20 minutes.
  • While the cake is cooling, make the rum syrup: place the rum and sugar in a small saucepan.
  • Add 1/2 cup water and heat, stirring over medium heat till the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes.
  • Run a thin knife around the side of the cake to loosen it, then remove the side of the pan.
  • Invert the cake onto a plate and remove the bottom of the pan and the waxed paper.
  • Prick the cake all over with a fork and generously brush it with the rum syrup, waiting for the syrup to be absorbed before brushing on more.
  • Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and let stand for about 1 hour to fully absorb the syrup.
  • Make the chocolate ganache - place the cream in a small, heavy saucepan and heat it over medium heat till it is hot but not boiling, and begins to bubble around the edge.
  • Place the chocolate in a metal bowl and pour the hot cream over it all at once.
  • Let the cream stand while the chocolate melts, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir the chocolate mixture in a circular motion, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out to the side.
  • Be careful not to stir too vigorously or you will add too much air to the ganache.
  • Keep stirring till all the chocolate is melted and completely blended with the cream.
  • (If by some chandce the ganache breaks - looks oily or curdled - you can fix it by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream to a simmer, transfer it to a bowl and whisk in the broken ganache bit by bit).
  • Let the ganache stand at room temp till thickened but spreadable, about 1 hour.
  • Place the cake on a cake platter, spread the ganache generously over the top and sides, and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Welcome to my page! It's a good place to start looking if you need to find me since I come here nearly every day for inspiration as I pursue the noble occupation of feeding family and friends. <br /><br /><img src=http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/353579/half%20marx-brothers-a-night-at-the-opera.jpg alt= /> <br /><br /><img src=http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/353579/2640.jpg alt= /> <br /><br /><img src=http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/353579/kaiserklan.jpg alt= /> <br /><br />My family moved across the country to southern California&nbsp;7 years ago. The first time I ever set foot on California soil (or anywhere in the West, for that matter) was the day I moved here. I experienced a form of culture/environment shock for about a year&nbsp;- even the air is different out here! For the first year, I would look at the roads and driveways that wind steeply up and down the foothills and think, Man, how does anyone drive on those in the winter? Then I would remember&nbsp;- they do it the same way they do in the summer&nbsp;- with their windows down, wearing shorts and flip-flops. I love the fact that we are near a large city, near the ocean, near the desert, near the mountains&nbsp;- what more could I ask for? And yes, even though I swore it wouldn't happen to me after living for more than 40 years in places with many weather extremes&nbsp;- I now get chilly when the temperature dips below 70 and can barely bring myself to go outdoors if it's raining. However, I do NOT wear a parka and mittens when it's 65 degrees&nbsp;- a sweatshirt or light jacket will do. <br /><br />My husband and I met while attending seminary (I dropped out before finishing one semester but he got a Master of Divinity) and we got married after knowing each other for 6 months. We are quick to tell other people that we do not advise this course of action, but we celebrated our 27th anniversary this year, so I guess sometimes rash decisions work out quite nicely. So with my husband's MDiv and my undergraduate degree in religious studies, we now both work in pharmaceutical marketing research. Just what you would expect, right? I telecommute to the east coast for work each day; I'm primarily a writer/analyst. When I was in college, writing so many research papers and unable to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up, I used to jokingly say that I should find a job writing research papers. More than 20 years later, that?s basically what I do. Cool, huh? <br /><br />Our wonderful son was born when we were married just one year and a mere 15 years later our bright-eyed redhead came into our lives (okay, so she was totally bald till she was nearly 2, but she's definitely red now). 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I constantly marvel that God gave us so many things to eat and so many ways to prepare them! We could have been like cattle or something, eating pretty much the same thing, in the same way, every day for all of our lives. What a privilege to be in charge of feeding our families (and ourselves, of course), and also being able to express our creativity and knowledge of nutritional needs at the same time. (Dessert is a nutritional need, right?) I stumbled on this site when I was searching for recipes that might use up some ingredients I had in the house ? I don?t think I?ve left since then, and I?m happy to have met and shared recipes with so many nice folks around the world. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%203/ZWT3-Participation.gif alt= /> <br /><br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%204/ZWTAB-tg.gif alt= /> <br /><br /><img src=http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/353579/2640.jpg alt= /> <br /><br /><br /><a href=http://www.biblegateway.com/usage/votd/votd2html.php?version=31&amp;jscript=0>View Verse of the Day</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src=http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/353579/2640.jpg alt= /></p>
 
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