I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, cheese makes everything better. Especially when that cheese is ricotta.
Here we have a gluten free cake, made gluten with its use of almond flour/meal. We’re reminded that almond is the main ingredients with a nice sprinkling of slivered almonds on top. The main flavor you get when eating it is not the almond however. It’s the lemon. This recipe calls for a whopping 1/4 cup of lemon zest! Unfortunately, I do not have a lemon tree and only had one lemon when baking this. I improvised by peeling the entire lemon and then finely chopped it, which miraculously created 1/4 cup. Later, I realized how wise that was because every bite, was bursting with lemon.
In general, when using lemon zest and peel, it seems wise to buy organic, to minimize the exposure to any unwanted pesticides or residue on the absorbent skins.
A final word. You know those moments, usually during Fall and Winter, when you’re struck with a desire to bake? This would be one of those cakes to satisfy that mood. While not complicated to make, it requires a few additional posh steps. Zesting/peeling, separating egg yolks from the whites, de-seeding a vanilla bean, etc. etc. It’s all worth it of course. And most of all, it satisfies the desire to bake. Unlike some recipes that are so ridiculously easy and straightforward that you’re left thinking, aw man, that’s it? It’s nice to have options. These Pumpkin Assorted Chocolate Chip Cookies, for example require neither an electric mixer nor chilling of the dough.
A Bee Bakes 