Chocolate Almond Cake

Deeply chocolatey, light in texture, made entirely with almond flour

Clockwise from top left: Chocolate Almond Cupcake at Tartine Manufactory; featured on Food52; page from Tartine All Day, photos by Paige Greenc; cross-section of cupcake topped with whipped cream

I was developing recipes for my book Tartine All Day when I devised this cake that only uses almond flour. There are, of course, lots of cakes that are made with just nut flours, but this one has a uniquely light texture and light, moist crumb. Additionally, there’s no added butter or oil, relying solely on the oil in the almonds.

One version of the cake is made by dotting the cake layer with jam just before it goes into the oven, an unusual step that adds little pockets of flavor throughout the cake and is a nice way to add more flavor, especially in the winter when we have less fresh fruit. Try adding apricot jam for a bit of Sacher Torte flavor.

RECIPE

Yield one 8-inch or 9-inch cake layer or 24 cupcakes

• 240g / 2 C almond flour

• 35g / 4 Tbs cocoa powder, sifted

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 75g / 6 Tbs sugar

• 45g / 4 Tbs brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon vinegar

• 180ml / ¾ cups milk

• 8 Tbs jam, raspberry, strawberry or apricot (optional)

Prepare 8-inch cake pan by greasing sides and cutting a round of parchment to fit into the bottom.

Preheat oven to 350f.

Combine almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and sift together. Set aside.

Using a handheld or table top mixer whip eggs, sugars, and salt to a ribbon until pale and thick.

Add vinegar and milk to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into the almond meal mixture and whisk together until combined.

You can finish the cake two ways at this point: plain, or with jam.

Plain: Transfer to cake pan and bake for about 25 - 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

With jam: Transfer to cake pan and place jam, one tablespoon at a time, dotted around the cake (see Food52 photo above). It will sink in a little bit during baking. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool, and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Cake keeps covered at room temperature for 2 days (without whipped cream), or up to five days in the refrigerator with cream topping.