Jewish Almond Cake

This is a real favourite of mine.  It can be served simply with a sprinkling of caster sugar, or with a fruit coulis.  It is a very traditional cake and will be found throughout Eastern Europe, particularly in former parts of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  I love making this cake because it is really simple.  It really is a case of throwing everything in one big bowl and stirring, though not too aggressively.  If you want, you can freeze the cake for up to one month, but I think it is best eaten fresh.  It will keep in an air-tight container for three to five days.

Ingredients:

125g butter

150g caster sugar

2 drops of almond extract

1 drop of vanilla extract

3 eggs

75g ground almonds

40g plain flour

Instructions:

Grease 7-inch (17.5cm) tin

Cover base with greaseproof paper or silicone

Preheat oven to 180ºC (Gas Mark 4)

Cream together butter and sugar

Butter & sugar

Add almond and vanilla extract

Add eggs one at a time, each with a third of the ground almonds

Eggs & ground almonds

Beat until fluffy

Sift flour and fold in

Flour

Mixture in tin

Put in over for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean

Out of oven

To prevent top of cake from burning, it may be necessary to cover with foil halfway through cooking

Cool and sprinkle with caster sugar if desired

Serve small portions as it is very rich!

Serve small portions as it is very rich!

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A Balkan Side Dish: Courgettes with Rice

This Balkan side dish is super tasty, if a bit time-consuming and is really healthy.  Make large quantities and either keep leftovers in the fridge or freezer to reheat as and when you want it.

Ingredients:

(serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a side dish)

1kg small or medium courgettes

60ml olive oil

3 white onions

3 garlic cloves

1tsp chili powder

1 can chopped tomatoes

200g risotto rice

600ml vegetable or chicken stock

2 tbsp parsley

white pepper

sour cream

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C

Top and tail courgettes and slice into large chunks

Heat half the olive oil in large frying pan

Gently fry chopped onions and garlic

Onion & Garlic

Stir in chili powder

Onion, garlic, chili

Add tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes

Tomatoes

Add courgettes

Courgette

Cook over gentle to medium heat for 10 minutes

Add rice to pan

Rice

Add stock to pan, cover and simmer for 45 minutes

Stock

Stir occasionally to prevent rice it sticking

Simmering

Remove pan from heat

Stir in white pepper and parsley

Pepper & parsley

Spoon into ovenproof dish

Bake for 45 minutes

Halfway through cooking, brush the remaining olive oil over mixture

Garnish with parsley, black olives and sour cream

Done! Serve!

Done! Serve!