Author Notes
I fell in love with Torta Anacaprese— a not-too-sweet lemon almond cake-- on a visit to Capri a few years ago. I ate it every chance I got in the short time I was there; it’s killer for breakfast, especially with a shot of espresso. The only recipes I could find online were in Italian, so I reworked a recipe for torta di limone, amping up the citrus and incorporating almond flour and toasted almonds. The result isn’t quite the torta I remember—I might have to go back to Italy for that--but a lovely, lemony cake all the same. —Midge
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Ingredients
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2 1/4 cups
AP flour
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3/4 cup
almond meal/flour
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2 teaspoons
baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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12 tablespoons
unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for buttering cake pan
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1 1/2 cups
sugar, divided
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4
large eggs
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1/3 cup
lemon zest (from about 5-6 lemons)
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3/4 cup
lemon juice, divided
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1/4 cup
whole milk
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1/2 cup
sliced blanched almonds, toasted
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1/4 cup
water
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9-inch bundt or springform pan.
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Whisk flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder, and soda together; set aside.
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In a standing mixer, cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and mix on high for 5 minutes.
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Gradually fold in the dry ingredients, alternating with ¼ cup of the lemon juice and ¼ cup of milk until blended.
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Scrap batter—it’ll be thick --into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.
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While the cake is baking, combine the remaining ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup of lemon juice, and water in a small saucepan and boil until the sugar melts and the syrup is slightly thickened.
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When the cake is done, let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Using a skewer or toothpick, poke the cake all over and pour most of the syrup (reserve about 3 tablespoons) slowly over the cake. Let it absorb the syrup until it’s completely cool.
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In the meantime, thicken the reserved syrup by boiling it further until it reaches the consistency of glaze.
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Turn cooled cake onto serving plate and brush it with the glaze. Press toasted almonds onto sticky surface as best you can and voila!
I’m a journalist who’s covered everything from illegal logging in Central America to merit pay for teachers, but these days I write mostly about travel. I’ve been lucky enough to find myself in some far-flung locales, where poking around markets and grocery stores is my favorite thing to do. Cooking, especially baking, is my way of winding down after a long day; there’s nothing like kneading bread dough to bring you back to earth.
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