Mothering Sunday

Inspired to bake a cake for my Mum on Mother's Day I decided to try my hand at her all time favourite, Battenburg.  Quickly realising I was not keen on fiddling around making half the mixture synthetically coloured pink, I also didn't find a recipe I was happy with.  They all seemed to be for plain sponge covered in marzipan.  I realised I wasn't striving to bake a traditional Battenburg after all but wanted to create an almond cake full of natural flavour and not overly sweet which Battenburg's always seem to be.  Blessed with an extensive cookery book collection and the wonders of the internet I still couldn't find the recipe I was hoping for so made one up based on inspiration from various sources to create what I'd been thinking about.  In case you'd like to give it a go the recipe for my almond cake is below.  As with all baking the most essential and invisible ingredient is love.  To miss this out means the cake will never taste as good, so bake in good spirits and be happy.  I used a heart shape tin as I had one I'd never used in my kitchen cupboard and now seemed the ideal time, but any shape 8" or 9" tin would be fine (just make sure the tin is lined with Bakewell paper to guarantee the cake turns out easily).  Also pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees Centigrade:

6 large eggs (separated into whites and yolks in two different bowls)
200g whole almonds (grind in a food processor when you need them for a far better result than packet ground almonds which are often dry and have lost their flavour)
150g spelt flour (or plain white flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
200g caster sugar
1 teaspoon natural almond extract
(Yes, that's right there's no fat in this recipe, but trust me, it works)

Filling - one 10oz / 254g  jar of St Dalfour apricot conserve (reserve two dessert spoons for the topping).  This wonderful French fruit spread is sugar free and a pure fruit taste, but apricot jam works well if this is what you have to hand.

Topping - one 250g tub of mascarpone into which you beat the remaining jam, a tablespoon of sieved icing sugar and half a teaspoon of almond extract. 

For the cake mixture first whisk the egg whites by themselves until stiff.  In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until well blended.  Stir the ground almonds, flour and baking powder into the egg yolks and sugar then add the almond extract.  Once combined fold in one tablespoon of the whisked egg whites and when incorporated gently fold in the remaining whisked egg whites. Turn into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for approximately 35 minutes until golden brown and the surface of the cake springs back to the touch.  (After 20 minutes I needed to cover my tin with a sheet of silicone paper to stop the cake from browning too much - it's always worth checking).  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin on a rack before turning out. 

Once cool cut the cake in half through the middle and spread the apricot layer on the base half before sandwiching the top back on.  Spread the mascarpone topping around the sides and top.  The almond cake is then ready to serve, but even better if you cover the sides (and possibly top) with toasted flaked almonds.