Recipes

From A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School by Darina Allen, this is a classic almond cake recipe for any occasion.

Serves 10

    115g/ 4oz ground almonds
    115g / 4oz icing sugar
    85g/ 3oz plain white flour
    3 free-range egg yolks
    125ml/ 4fl.oz melted butter

For the Icing

    175g/ 6oz icing sugar
    1½tbsp boiling water

To decorate

    Angelica
    Crystallized Violets

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas mark 4.

Grease a 18cm/ 7in round cake tin with melted butter and dust with a little flour.

Put the ground almonds, icing sugar and flour into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolks and the cooled melted butter. Stir well until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Spread the cake mixture evenly in the prepared tin, make a little hollow in the centre and tap on the work surface to release any large air bubbles.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes. The cake should still be moist but cooked through. Leave in the tin for 5-6 minutes before unmoulding on to a wire rack. Allow to cool. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and mix to a thickish smooth icing with the boiling water.

Use a palette knife, dipped in boiling water then dried, to spread the icing gently over the top and sides of the cake.

Decorate with crystallized violets and little diamonds of angelica.