Almond Cake

Step 1

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Step 2

Grease a 9-inch spring form pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper, and flour (use almond meal or a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to keep the cake gluten-free).

Step 3

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and all but 2 tbsp of the sugar. Whisk until the yolks become thick and pale in color, about 1 minute. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the salt and set aside.

Step 4

In the bowl of a standard electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the 6 egg whites on medium speed until they become opaque, about 1 minute.

Step 5

Sprinkle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and continue to beat the egg whites until they hold medium peaks.

Step 6

With a flexible rubber spatula, stir in about 1/4 of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture (no need to be gentle here).  Scrape the remaining egg whites over the yolks, and about half of the almond flour.

Step 7

Gently fold them into the yolks, but only partially.

Step 8

While the mixture still has a few streaks of white left, add the remaining almond flour and fold in, folding until you have a homogeneous batter.  Be gentle!

Step 9

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shimmy until the batter is level.

Step 10

Bake the cake for about 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and springy to the touch. Let the hot cake cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then run a butter knife along the edges of the cake pan.

Step 11

Invert the cake pan onto the rack, remove the sides and bottom, and peel away the parchment paper. Turn the cake right side up and allow to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, cut into 12 slices and serve with fresh berries.