One short week ago, sweet, Sweet Amandine, you were born! Two slices of toast, a tin of anchovies, a couple of roasted chickens, some muhammara, a doomed blue bowl, and a very pretty dress later, here we are. Along the way, dear readers, you've learned some more about me, and I have discovered something quite thrilling about you...
You exist!
And I'm blushing. When your encouraging responses to my musings started rolling in I got all wibbly wobbly. You caught me off guard! Thank you, truly, not only for reading, but also for sharing your own thoughtful, funny, and smart ideas about what nourishes you.
Speaking of sharing, it's about time I unveil the tasty treat that inspired the title of this blog. Here she is, in all her luscious, almond-y glory:
This tart is first love in edible form. I know, I know, that sounds terribly melodramatic. But I have witnessed enough wide eyes and meaningful silences following buttery first bites to know that this metaphor rings true. I speak not of first crushes or heady infatuations, but of first love: that heart-stopping moment when you are bowled over by the realization that your own capacity to love is infinitely greater than you imagined. It's the love that teaches you once and for all that "oh, this, THIS, is what love is!" and nothing else will suffice.
While some have a life-long affair with chocolate, my heart was captured at a young age by the allure of all things almond: almond extract, almond paste, marzipan, (and much later) almond liqueur... My mom traces this love back to my early encounter with Lazzaroni amaretti cookies (the cookies are actually made from apricot kernels, but the flavor is undeniably similar to almond).
Mom may be onto something. We moved from New York to the Midwest when I was five, and I brought the elegant, long-empty, Lazzaroni tin with me. I remember lying on the floor of my bedroom in the big Ohio farmhouse, lifting the top from the red tin, inhaling, and trying to reassemble the flavor of these little treats from the aroma that still clung to the metal.
Years later, home from college for a visit, I discovered the star of this post perched innocently on the kitchen counter. Life has never been the same. I honestly don't know which I enjoy more, eating or baking this tart. It was this recipe that first got me thinking about the kind of baker (and occasional cook) I wanted to be. This crumbly first love set the tone in my kitchen: The sweets and savories from my oven would be straightforward and true. They would be beautiful, yes, but humble, and unabashedly rough around the edges.
Like many of the sweet recipes that have become staples in my kitchen, this one was passed on to me from my step-mom, Amy. I have preserved its original title, "Marcella's Butter Almond Cake." Recently, I asked Amy, "Who is Marcella, anyway?" She had no idea. The recipe, clipped from the Columbus Dispatch, was given to her ten years ago by her friend, Patricia. Well, thanks to my one foot in academia, I thought a little research was in order. It seems that "Marcella" is one Marcella Sarne of Long Beach, California, who entered this recipe in a baking contest sponsored by C&H sugar. She won the grand prize, a $40,000 custom kitchen! A whopping prize, you may be thinking, for a recipe that demands so little time and so few ingredients. But I urge you to grab this recipe and head to your kitchen immediately. You'll see. She deserved it.
Marcella’s Butter Almond Cake
1 ½ c. sugar
¾ c. butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract [I've been known to up the quantity by an extra 1/2 tsp...]
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ c. flour3 T sliced almonds [that's sliced, not slivered, folks]
1 T sugar for garnish
[I've rewritten the following instructions to reflect the order of my own steps in the kitchen. I do believe I have streamlined this procedure for maximum efficiency!]
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
While the oven is heating up:
Melt the butter over the lowest possible flame and set aside to cool.
Grease and flour a 9-inch round pan. [I like to use a fluted pan with a removable bottom.]
Measure the 1 1/2 c. sugar into a mixing bowl.
Then:
Spread the sliced almonds on a baking pan and toast them in the oven while you mix the batter. Toasting should take about 7 minutes. Follow your nose: When you smell toasted almonds, you've got toasted almonds!
Back at the mixing bowl:
Pour the melted butter into the sugar and blend. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the almond extract and vanilla. Add the salt and flour, and mix well.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and 1T sugar for the garnish. Bake 30-40 minutes, until just golden on top. When the tart is baked through, a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
My favorite ways to enjoy this tart:
- with a mug of Earl Grey tea
- alongside a little mound of sliced wild strawberries
- warm, beneath a scoop of vanilla ice cream