Buckwheat Cake (torta Di Grano Saraceno)

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 1 cup whole almond, blanched or natural (6oz/175g)
• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour (200g)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 large lemon, zest of, finely grated (or two medium)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (6oz/175g)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (300g)
• 3/4 cup milk (180ml)
• 4 eggs, at room temperature, separated

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350f/175°c spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, about 10-12 minutes. cool completely.
• 2 grease a 9-inch/23cm springform pan and set aside. in a food processor or clean coffee grinder, grind the almonds as finely as possible with 1/4 cup (50g) of the sugar. in a medium bowl, stir together the ground almonds, buckwheat flour, salt, cinnamon, lemon zest and baking powder.
• 3 in another bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup (200g) of the sugar until fluffy. add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. beat in the dry mixture alternately with the milk until everything is well combined.
• 4 in a clean mixing bowl and using spotlessly clean beaters, whip the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup (50g) sugar until they form stiff, glossy peaks. stir one-quarter of the whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then gently fold in the rest. scrape the batter into the greased pan, smoothing the top.
• 5 bake the cake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, covering the top loosely with foil if it begins to darken too much. cool the cake for ten minutes on a rack, then carefully remote the outer ring and cool completely. store, covered, at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. dust with a little powdered sugar before serving, if you like.