Almond Plum Cake with Fromage Blanc
CAKE
1 cup almonds, blanched, toasted and finely ground
2 cups AP flour
1 Tbs baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon zest
¾ cup (6 oz) unsalted Straus Family Creamery butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
3 egg yolks
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 ¼ cups (10 oz) whole milk
5 egg whites
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a half sheet pan with foil; butter and flour foil. Combine ground almonds,
flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until
light and very fluffy (~5 min). Beat in yolks and extracts. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions
alternately with milk, just until combined. In another very clean bowl, beat whites until stiff but not
dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining whites. Spread batter evenly in
prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
PLUM JAM
4 cups of plums, pitted and chopped
½ cup dried figs, chopped
1 oz pectin
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 cup Shenandoah Vineyards Black Muscat
1 cup honey (+ or – depending on sweetness of plums)
1 cup of sugar (+ or – depending on sweetness of plums)
3 Tbs (1 ½ oz) unsalted Straus Family Creamery butter
Combine chopped plums and dried figs in a pot with pectin; cook on medium heat. When the fruit
begins to liquefy a bit, add vanilla bean, lemon juice, black muscat, and sweeteners. Continue to cook
on medium or medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook jam until it becomes quite thick and jells
when tested on a cold plate.
CANDIED ALMO NDS
1 cup almonds (slivered or whole), blanched and toasted
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup water
Combine sugar and water in a pot. Cook over medium heat, brushing down the sides of the pot
with a wet pastry brush if any sugar crystals form. Do not stir, but as the mixture begins to darken
swirl the pan gently to combine. When the caramel becomes a deep amber color and just as it starts
to smoke, remove from heat and mix in almonds. Spread the mixture on a silpat and allow to cool
completely. Chop.
Christina Marie Pastries
|
1119 Shotwell St #3 | San Francisco, CA | 94110
|
202.421.1540
FRO MAGE BLANC ICING
1 ¾ cup (14 oz) Straus Family Creamery heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
7.5 oz Bellwether Farms Fromage Blanc, room temperature
In a bowl, beat together cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to stiff peaks. Fold 1/3 of the
whipped cream into fromage blanc to lighten. Then gently fold in the additional whipped cream,
mixing to combine.
ASSEMBLY
Cut the cake into 3 sections, ~ 5 ½” x 11”. Place one piece of cake on a platter, top with 1 cup
plum jam, then 1/3 cup candied almonds, followed by 1/3 cup icing. Be careful to not put the filling to
close to the edge initially as the weight of the following layers will cause it to seep out. Repeat with a
second layer – cake, jam, almonds, fromage blanc. Top with the last piece of cake and then spread 2
cups of fromage blanc icing on the top. Scatter candied almonds decoratively on top.
Christina Marie Pastries
|
1119 Shotwell St #3 | San Francisco, CA | 94110
|
202.421.1540