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Almond and Fig Torte

  • February 8, 2023

 

Fresh figs are months away here in New Jersey , but this cake makes use of dried figs, readily available any time of year. My dad’s wife made this cake years ago and gave me the recipe, one she got from her local newspaper, but it’s attributed to chef Al Paris, of Philadelphia’s (now closed) Heirloom and Paris Bistro restaurants. With almond paste as one of its ingredients, the fragrance alone is inviting. The flavor is every bit as delicious as the smell that will permeate your kitchen while in the oven, and the texture is dense and moist.  The recipe calls for dried figs, but once fresh fig season arrives, this would be delicious with those as well.
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Almond and Fig Torte
 
Ingredients
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
  • ¾ c. sugar
  • 12 ounces almond paste
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 T. vanilla extract
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • ½ cup almond flour, sifted
  • 1 cup dried black mission figs, stemmed, halved, and soaked in hot water
  • ½ cup pine nuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter.
  3. Add the remaining butter and sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer.
  4. With the paddle attachment, cream until fluffy.
  5. Add the almond paste, eggs, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
  6. Add the baking powder and almond flour and mix until incorporated.
  7. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  8. Drain the figs and then arrange them cut-side up on top.
  9. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the figs. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the edges of the cake are browned and the center is set. (
  10. The cake will be dense and soft, with the texture of almond paste.)
  11. Turn the oven off, crack the door of the oven, and let the cake rest in the oven for 20 minutes more. Slice and serve.

Five-Star Almond Cake

  • June 10, 2009

Judging by the frequency of the dessert recipes I’ve been posting lately, you’d think that all I eat are sweets. (Well, actually you wouldn’t be too far off the mark.) But I just had to bake this cake, which I also ate at the annual picnic of my Italian chit-chat group, “Le Matte.” My friend Maria, a member of the group, brought this stellar dessert but unfortunately, I never got a photo of it last week.  I’ve been bugging her for this recipe for more than a year, so when she sent it to me following the picnic, I had no choice but to bake it in order to photograph it for you. Truth be told, it tastes so divine,  I was compelled by forces greater than nature to make this. Who am I to resist with those kinds of powers? Maria warned that the cake may sink a little in the middle and mine was no exception. I’m not sure how to remedy this, so if you have any ideas, send ‘em my way. In any case, the rich almond flavor and moist texture makes this a delicious dessert all on its own, but if you want to gild the lily, serve it with berries or a scoop of ice cream.   Addendum: Following a reader’s suggestion, I baked the cake again, altering the preparation, and lowering the oven temperature as well. It worked out PERFECTLY with nary a dip or valley in the cake. Rather than beat with a mixer for a long time, as the original recipe called for, I used a stick blender to mash the almond paste and butter together. It kept too much air from being incorporated into the batter, which was my goal, but I think a food processor would work equally well. This method not only produces a level cake, but it’s so much faster and easier too. So follow this if you want the same results. The picture on top and at the bottom of this post were of the first cake, and you can tell the cake has a slight dip in the middle. It was delicious nonetheless. But here’s a shot of the cake I made with the altered preparation instructions, cooking temperature and time. Here’s what it looked like out of the oven, with nary a dip or valley in sight: June 2009 094

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Five-Star Almond Cake
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks butter, room temperature until very soft
  • 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (measure after sifting)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 7-ounce tube almond paste, room temperature until soft
  • 4 egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup slivered almonds, optional
  • powdered sugar for sifting over cake
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit
  2. Butter sides and bottoms of two 8-inch springform pans.
  3. Line bottoms with parchment paper.
  4. Butter the paper.
  5. Place pans in freezer.
  6. Sift flour, salt and baking soda into a medium size bowl.
  7. Set aside.
  8. In a food processor, or with a stick blender, place almond paste and butter and pulse until smooth.
  9. Add sour cream, egg yolks, almond or vanilla extract and sugar and whir until blended.
  10. Take the mixture out of the food processor and place in a bowl.
  11. Add the flour mixture and stir with a spatula or a spoon just until blended.
  12. Divide batter between prepared pans and spread evenly.
  13. Sprinkle with almonds, if desired.
  14. Bake 1 hour and 5 or 10 minutes or more until tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed and cakes shrink from sides of the pans.
  15. Cool in pans on wire rack.
  16. Remove sides of pans and paper.
  17. Sift powdered sugar on top before serving.
  18. The cake improves with age but is fabulous the same day.
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June 2009 079