January 29, 2008
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Chocolate Almond Cakes
Cake
12 ounces butter, room temperature
1 pound almond paste
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
8 large eggs
Filling and Glaze
4 ounces 82% dark chocolate, melted
6 ounces butter, cut into small cubes
8 ounces 70% dark chocolate, chopped
For the cake: You will need a half-sheet pan 12 in x 17 in x 1in. Line the pan with parchment paper. If you use parchment paper, butter and flour it after placing it in the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In an electric mixer, beat the butter and almond paste together on medium speed for about 5 minutes until it is very light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Add the sugar and cocoa and continue blending together on low speed.
Increase the speed to medium and add the eggs one a time, letting each egg incorporate before adding the next.
Let the batter mixing for a couple more minutes until it has lightened in color.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the center is just set – it may feel slightly spongy but a skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. Warning: the cake will rise above the top of the pan but it should not spill over – you may want to check halfway through the baking time and once afterwards.
Remove the cake from the oven place on a cooling rack. Run a knife all around the edge of the pan. After cooling about 10 minutes, turn the cake out onto the rack and let it finish cooling.
The cake should be chilled in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before you cut it as it will be quite soft and moist.
To fill and glaze cakes: Using a 2 1/2-in cutter of your choice. Cut out shapes from the sheet of cake.
Brush or pour some of the melted 82% chocolate over half of the shapes, and top with the remaining shapes. Let the cakes sit for a few minutes for the chocolate to set. Place the cakes on a wire rack over a sheet pan, spacing them a few inches apart so you can glaze each one easily.
Place the butter and 70% chocolate in a bowl over a bain-marie and melt over low heat, whisking occasionally. When the chocolate is mostly melted, take the bowl off the heat, and whisk gently to finish combining. Transfer the glaze to a measuring cup with a spout.
Pour the glaze over the center of each cake, using an offset spatula to spread glaze over the sides. The glaze does not need to evenly cover the sides. If the entire glaze is used up, scrape the fallen glaze from the sheet pan below the rack and reheat to melt.
Let the cakes sit until the glaze sets, then serve.
Comments (1)
ryc: it would be waaaaay smarter to buy precut wrappers to save time =). i didn’t have any on hand so i used wax paper instead and cut them into little squares. if you are making these almond cakes, do line your goodies with wax or parchment paper. i would box these cakes bc bagging or wrapping it will smudge your frosting. oh and you can put almond extract in your glaze too hmmmmmm. good luck and share pics when done!