Almond and rose drizzle cake

Serves 4-6 Cakes, Bread and Pastries

Advertisement

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C F/Gas 4. Grease a 19cm square x 8cm deep cake tin or a 25cm x 18cm x 5cm deep tin and line with baking paper trimmed to come beyond 2cm of the height of the tin.

Grind the whole almonds, a few at a time, in either a mini processor or a coffee grinder until the texture is very fine. Put the egg whites in a large bowl with the cream of tartar and put the yolks in another large bowl with 75g of the sugar.

Using hand-held electric beaters, first whisk the whites until firm and the beaters leave a pattern in the foam. Whisk in the remaining sugar, a large spoonful at a time. Without washing the beaters, whisk the yolks and sugar until thick and the beaters leave a trail when lifted out.

Fold the ground almonds into the yolk mixture along with the rosewater. Fold in a little of the whisked whites to loosen the mixture before gently folding in the rest, a little at a time. The important thing is to retain the volume.

Spoon into the tin and bake for around 45 minutes until cooked, golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for around 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the topping, mix the rose petals and rosewater together in a bowl and leave to soak for around 10 minutes. Mix the granulated sugar with the lemon juice, add the soaked petals with the rosewater and the crushed pistachio nibs. Immediately spoon evenly over the surface of the cake.

When cold, carefully remove the cake from the tin and cut into pieces to serve with rose sorbet if you like. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for around 4 days.

COOK’S NOTE
Dried rose petals are available in the Cooks’ Ingredients range at Waitrose, Middle Eastern shops and from other supermarkets.

This recipe was taken from the August/September 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.