I almost over-baked this cake. I was sitting on the couch with the scent of almonds and coconut and sugar wafting around me and got distracted imagining a cake-scented perfume. I’d buy this one. I’d wear it every single day and I wager that I’d give Chanel a run for its money.
Lest you worry that one cake couldn’t smell insanely good and taste insanely good too, it does.
I found the recipe in an unlikely place: the organic grains and bulk foods section of the grocery store. I was looking for quinoa and contemplating a nice healthy tabbouleh salad and there—amidst the virtuous bags of teff and flax meal—I found a stellar cake recipe on the back of an almond meal bag.
This recipe plays off the idea of a classic flourless almond cake, but a touch of coconut flour gives it a depth of flavor that I loved. Coconut and almonds are a perfect match: Both are nutty and dense and pair well with sugar.
Something to keep in mind: This cake is very, very moist and you must chill it before slicing into it. Between you and me, forcing someone to wait and chill a cake before eating it is a unique form of torture, and I wouldn’t ask you to do it if it weren’t absolutely necessary.
It’s worth it! This cake is perfect. Eat it plain or sift confectioners' sugar over the top. I made a quick strawberry sauce by cooking frozen strawberries in a saucepan until they thickened and spooned it over my first slice. Vanilla ice cream would not be a bad move, and you also won’t go wrong if you split a slice in half, toast it, and pour heavy cream over top.
It's perfect for a dinner party and even better for breakfast the next morning. It's adapted from the back of the Bob's Red Mill almond meal bag. —Posie (Harwood) Brien
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