Zucchini-almond cake

I enjoyed those zucchini bread cookies so much, I decided to try another zucchini recipe.  This time, a cake.  A very moist, gluten-free (though that's not a requisite for me...in fact, I enjoy gluten a little too much) cake.  It's another Martha recipe; I wasn't specifically looking for it but just like the cookies, I found it while browsing the site and it appealed to me so here we are.  (And by the way, Martha Stewart Cakes is finally coming into existence and I've already pre-ordered it!)

This zucchini-almond cake is basically a foam cake so it has a bouncy texture to it and is very moist, thanks in part to the zucchini.  It's made much like a genoise (except it's not quite one because there's baking powder in it) so you start by whisking eggs and sugar in a bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water to dissolve the sugar and get the eggs ready to be whipped in the mixer to its loftiest potential.  Then you fold in the other ingredients: almond meal mixed together with some potato starch (which I now know helps make a tender cake), melted butter, vanilla, and the grated zucchini.

When it comes to cake, I'm always chasing "moist" and this one definitely fits the bill.  If I have any qualms about it, it's that I've come to discover that gluten-free cakes made wholly with almond meal instead of flour makes for a heavier (albeit, moist) crumb that just makes the cake more filling.  It's light and heavy at the same time, if that makes any sense.  

This may sound crazy because I love almonds but I've now figured out that I, personally, prefer most cakes made with some component of flour instead of all almond meal (I'm not talking about flourless chocolate cakes though - I love those).  So I do wonder what this cake would taste like with some or all of the almonds replaced with, say, cake flour.  It may be a little less moist but I envision a lighter crumb akin to a chiffon cake, which is one of my favorite kind of cakes.

This cake is altogether very different from the zucchini bread cookies. While those are warm, nutty, and slightly spiced, reminiscent of a morning muffin or coffee cake, this zucchini-almond cake is likewise moist but on the side of an eggy-vanilla cake.  It gives off a wonderful perfume of eggs, sugar, and vanilla as it's baking.  It set my brain up for chiffon cake but as I mentioned above, the almond meal makes for a different texture and feel.  My husband didn't find it too heavy so it really is a matter of preference.

I had some cream in the fridge so I whipped some up for my husband to have with the cake.  He never says no to a little whipped cream on top of a piece of cake!  I often hear "this is really good with the whipped cream" from him.  

Making these zucchini recipes makes me wish I had a home garden of my own but, unfortunately, I am no gardener.  Not at all.  I'd love to have just a simple herb box (not even a "garden") but I'm the type of person who can't even keep a simple basil plant alive!  It's safe to say the farmer's market and Whole Foods can continue to count on my business.


Recipe: 

Zucchini-Almond Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart

- One 8-inch round cake -

1 1/2 cups almond meal/flour 
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it's gluten-free if you need it that way)
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini), squeezed of excess liquid
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease (with butter or cooking spray) an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment.  Grease the paper.

Whisk the almond flour, potato starch, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Place eggs in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and set over (not directly in) a pan of barely simmering water.  Whisk for about a minute, until eggs are foamy.  Add brown sugar and continue whisking until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Remove the bowl from the pan, wipe the moisture away from the outside of the bowl and set it in the stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk on high until mixture is thick and pale, about 7-10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the melted butter, almond flour mixture, vanilla, and zucchini.  Scrape batter into the prepared cake pan and gently tap the pan a few times on the counter-top to release some of the air bubbles.  Bake until cake is golden brown on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with some moist crumbs attached.  This takes approximately 25-30 minutes but check early.

Let cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.  Run a knife or small offset spatula around the sides of the cake and invert it onto a platter.  Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.