Recipe Corner: Torta al Limone

This is one of my favorite recipes from Saveur. Yum. Yum. Yum. It has almond flavors and lemon flavors and combined those lemon and almond flavors are fantastically flavorful. Mmmm. I usually eat it plain but you can top it with sweetened mascarpone, fresh fruit, or almonds and honey.

Ingredients:
8 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature, plus one tablespoon for pan)
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sifted cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 pinches salt
1/2 cup almond paste
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions:
Adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-cup loan pan with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Line bottom and long sides of pan with parchment paper long enough to drape over the side 2"-3", leaving short ends of pan unlined. Butter parchment paper with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Set pan aside.

Lightly whisk eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into another medium bowl and set aside.

Crumble almond paste into a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar while mixing and mix until texture is grainy, about two minutes. Add remaining butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat almond mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, about one minute. Add egg mixture one tablespoon at a time while beating constantly. Continue beating, stopping as needed to scrape down sides of bowl, until mixture is pale and has doubled in volume, about two minutes. Stir in lemon zest. Gently fold in half the flour mixture at a time. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth out top with spatula.

Bake cake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Tent a piece of foil over cake and continue to bake until cake contracts from sides of pan and springs back when lightly touched, 55-60 minutes more. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then grab parchment paper and lift cake out of pan. Peel off parchment and let cool completely on rack.

Makes one 10" loaf