Spanish Marcona Almond Cake (with Olive Oil)

 

I spotted this recipe on La Tienda a while ago and really wanted to make it.  La Tienda  is a company that ships food from Spain to the US and other places.  I've ordered some stuff from them before.  They also feature Spanish recipes.  For this cake, though, I ordered Marcona almonds from Nuts.com - I love that company.  (You can probably make this recipe with any blanched almonds; Marconas are supposed to be superior though.)

I lightly toasted the almonds in a dry skillet on the stove and then ground them coarsely in my food processor.  I actually messed up on this recipe- dumping all the ingredients in together instead of doing the wet first and then adding the dry. I was afraid I'd messed it up, but it turned out very well despite that.  I loved the orange and lemon flavors- make sure you use fresh zest.

Spanish Marcona Almond Cake (with Olive Oil)
adapted from La Tienda

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp orange zest
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup Marcona almonds, toasted and finely chopped
Powdered sugar, for sifting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil 9-inch diameter cake pan. I cut out a circle of parchment paper and placed it in the bottom for easier release.

2.  Whisk flour, baking powder & salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs & zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in milk, then gradually beat in oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended, then stir in almonds. Transfer batter to pan and place on baking sheet to collect any spills.

3.  Bake until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake and place on serving platter, top side up. Sift powdered sugar over the cake.

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