Toucinho Do Ceu Portuguese Almond Cake Recipes

PORTUGUESE ALMOND CAKE (TOUCINHO DO CéU)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
• Line a cake mold with parchment paper. Grease with butter and dust lightly with flour.
• Bring the water, sugar, salt, and pork lard to a boil in a big saucepan. Add the ground almonds.
• Stir gently but constantly, over medium-low heat, until the almond mixture starts to thicken and you can expose the bottom of the pan by stirring, or about 2 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. Mix until the butter is melted and blended well.
• In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the yolks and eggs. Pour into the almond mixture and mix with a spatula.
• Add the amaretto and orange zest and stir well.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is firm in the center and the top is lightly golden brown, or about 28-30 minutes (if you over-bake it, the cake becomes chewy).
• Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool. After the cake has cooled for about 20 minutes, invert the cake onto a platter. Lift off the pan, peel off the parchment paper, and invert the cake on a serving plate with the topside up.
• Cut the cake into wedges. Serve at room temperature and enjoy.

TOUCINHO DO CEU (PORTUGUESE ALMOND CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat over to 350'F Prepare a 9inch spring form pan by greasing, and setting a parchment circle on the bottom of the pan. Be sure to grease the parchment as well.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, salt and backing powder together. Set aside.
• In another large mixing bowl, cream butter,lemon zest, almond paste and sugar together until completely incorporated and super fluffy.
• In a measuring cup, mix cream, vanilla extract, almond extract and coconut extract together. Set aside.
• Beat eggs and egg yolks into the creamed butter/sugar bowl, one egg at a time until completely incorporated. Beat in lemon juice.
• With your mixer on medium, add flour and cream mixture to the sugar/butter mixture. Add flour in three batches, with cream being added to in between flour batches, beginning and ending with flour. Be sure to completely incorporate all ingredients before adding each new batch. Do not over mix.
• Pour half of the batter out into the spring form pan. Add your apricot preserves on top of raw batter in pan. Do not stir into batter. You can add fresh apricot to the pan at this time if you desire, for a little extra fruit kick.
• Pour rest of batter over the preserve layer. Do not mix batter in pan.
• Bake on the center of the bottom wrack for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch in the center. Cool on wire wrack for 20 minutes before removing ring from the spring form pan. Cool completely before removing the bottom of the spring form pan from the cake.
• For topping: 1- Set a glass bowl over a medium saucepan filled with simmering water. 2- Add egg whites, sugar, salt, and water tot he pan. Stir lightly to combine. 3- Cook over medium heat, making sure to stir continuously. 4- Mixture is done once it has reached 150'F (use insta-read thermometer. I have one that clips to the side of pans and bowls for just this sort of thing...very useful.) 5- Transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on medium-high until stiff peaks form (beware not to over beat) 6- Set speed to low, add vanilla and almond extract, and beat just until combined. Again, do not over mix it. It should be nice and glossy when you are done.
• Once cake is completely cooled, frost with white topping as desired. I chose to pipe it into a design on top of the cake. You don't have to use a lot of this frosting....it is a very sweet cake, and it is even traditional in a lot of homes not to frost the cake at all, but just dust it with sugar... so that is an alternative to the frosting, of course.

ALMOND CAKE FROM ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• Beat egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract together until smooth. Stir in melted butter.
• Add flour mixture and mix with spoon until nearly smooth.
• Turn into a buttered 9" springform pan.
• Bake until center of cake springs back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• While is hot, cover top with sliced almonds.
• Slowly pour Hot Almond Syrup even over, letting syrup soak into cake.
• Broil about 6" from heat until almonds are lightly toasted.
• Cool on rack 15 minutes.
• Using knife or spatula, loosen sides between pan and cake, then cool completely before releasing springform pan.
• Hot Almond Syrup: In 1-qt saucepan combine sugar and water.
• Boil until mixture reaches 220F on candy thermometer.
• Remove from heat and add almond extract; stir well.