Toasted Almond Cake
Hi!
One of the most quintessential Danish summer cakes is the “Strawberry Mazarin” - a deliciously dense, rich cake made with almond paste, butter, sugar and eggs. It is usually brushed with a thin layer of melted dark chocolate and topped with pastry cream and fresh strawberries.
My version of this national treasure omits the almond paste for toasted ground almonds and I have adapted the sugar to make up the ratio. Toasting the almonds adds a deeper, nuttier flavour to the cake that I personally prefer to the sweeter, milder almond flavour from the almond paste version. This cake is naturally gluten-free and since there is no leavening agent in it, it is dense and decadent.
I topped my Mazarin with basil & rose geranium infused pastry cream and lots of fresh berries I picked in my garden, but really you can top it with whatever fruit is in season. As with all of my favourite recipes, this one is endlessly adaptable. Swap out some or all of the almonds for other nuts. Add spices to the cake batter. Swap out the berries for fresh peaches or plums, roasted apricots, macerated orange segments, poached pears - whatever catches your fancy. Same goes for the pastry cream, go classic with vanilla or use the flavourings you love with the fruit you have chosen.
Toasted Almond Cake / Mazarin
Makes 1 x 20cm cake
175g almond flour
150g sugar (I used toasted sugar)
150g butter, at room temperature
3 medium eggs at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven at 175C.
Spread the almond flour in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet and bake until the almond flour is golden in colour, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent burning. Leave to cool to room temperature.
Add almond flour, sugar, butter and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine. Add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into a 20cm round cake pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 175C (160C fan) for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the cake feels firm to the touch.
Leave to cool to room temperature.
When cool, glaze the cake with 50-75g of melted, dark chocolate and top with your preferred pastry cream!