Gateau St James Recipes

GATEAU ST. JAMES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Spray 10-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment round.
• Spray again and dust with cocoa powder.
• Grind chocolate and almonds in food processor until fine.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add yolks one at a time, beating well.
• Add chocolate/almond mixture and blend well.
• Beat whites to soft peaks.
• Mix 1/3 of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten (it will be stiff).
• Fold remaining whites into chocolate mixture.
• Bake until tests done, about 30 minutes.
• Cool.
• Unmold upside down on to platter.

ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Finely grind the almonds in a food processor.
• With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a smooth pale cream. Beat in the zests and almond extract. Add the ground almonds and mix very well.
• With clean beaters, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the egg and almond mixture (the mixture is thick, so that you will need to turn it over quite a bit into the egg whites).
• Grease an 11-inch springform pan, preferably nonstick, with butter and dust it with flour. Pour in the cake batter, and bake into a preheated 350°F for 40 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch. Let cool before turning out.
• Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar. Or, if you like, cut a St. James cross out of paper. Place it in the middle of the cake, and dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, then remove the paper.