A very easy, wonderfully bright Meyer lemon almond flour cake that bakes into a flavorful, incredibly moist cake that's just sweet enough. A lemon glaze provides a pretty topping and adds a bit of sweet to this cake made with whole lemons. Adapted from Claudia Roden's classic orange almond cake from her book "Everything Tastes Better Outdoors," as shared in the NY Times.
500gramsMeyer lemons (1.1 pounds, 17.6 ounces) I used 5 Meyer lemons, but lemon size varies widely. Weigh for accuracy.
200grams (1 cup)granulated sugar
224grams (2 cups)almond flour, finely ground
5largeeggs
1 teaspoonbaking powder
Lemon Glaze
120grams (1 cup)powdered sugar, sifted
1½ to 2TablespoonsMeyer lemon juice (ok to substitute standard lemon juice)
Instructions
Meyer Lemon Almond Cake
Wash lemons and place, whole and unpeeled, in pot. Add water just to cover lemons and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Remove lemons from water gently with a slotted or strainer spoon - they will be soft. It's ok if they've cracked a bit. Just drain as much water from the interior as possible. Place on a plate to cool, then cut them in half and remove the seeds and slice off any hard bits on the stem end. Place the lemons (including peel) in a blender or food processor and puree.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a circle of parchment paper in the base of an 8 inch round cake pan with 3 inch tall sides. Grease the paper and sides of the pan. TIP: An 8 inch springform pan will work just as well if you have no tall cake pan.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the lemon puree and mix. Add sugar, almond flour and baking powder and mix until well combined. Since there is no gluten in the almond flour, there's no need to worry about over-mixing the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, level the top with a spatula or knife, and bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, the edges are beginning to turn a golden brown, and are pulling away from the pan.
Cool the cake completely in the pan on a baking rack.Once cooled, gently invert onto a plate, remove parchment, and flip back onto a serving platter. If using a springform, simply remove the sides.
Lemon Glaze
Sift the powdered sugar into a medium sized bowl. Add smaller amount of lemon juice and stir well. If needed, add additional lemon juice to achieve a pourable consistency. Pour onto cake and spread with the back of a spoon. Nudge some of the glaze over the edge of the cake to create pretty drips. The glaze will set up after an hour or two.