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Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake

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This is just one of those cakes that you can keep stashed at a continuum, the perfect balance of lemon, almond, and raw sugar. All to satisfy that mid-afternoon or late evening sweet tooth attack. Another awesome addition (if it’s a concern) it’s gluten-free. To me, that’s a free pass to “GO” for a second helping!

I stumbled across this recipe from Cakelets and Doilies (www.cakeletsanddoilies) while looking for inspiration to re-create a recipe my Italian great aunt used to make every summer during my childhood on our annual visits.

I fondly remember those trips and the family gathering at her modest home where she lived with my grandpa, her brother. Its one of those great little houses, yellow with a white picket fence, front porch, big backyard with a garden, and a basement. The basement was my grandpas “man cave” where he brewed wine and grappa but I’ll leave that venture for another post!

The inside was decorated with religious pictures and favorite saints and the doors were sliding accordion-style screens. The color was simple and the furniture was covered in fabrics of various patterns. She always had bowl after bowl of licorice candies with chewy coatings, the penny ones, pretty colors and all different sizes and shapes but in the middle was black licorice, my favorite.

There was always one evening where she invited the entire Italian side of my mom’s family to dinner and prayed for no rain; so thankful for those houseful of saints, I’m sure they pulled some extra weight when asking for the favor. There had to be 30+ of us and if we were to be forced inside, it would be similar to the game “how many people can you fit in your VW bug”? Yeah, you remember the one and some of them I didn’t feel like getting so “up close and personal” if you know what I mean.

The meal was always the same, homemade Italian red rice with meat sauce, roasted chicken, homemade bread, salad, and desserts. There were always 2 store bought cakes, a chocolate and a white with gooey Crisco frosting (a super artery clogger but a LOVE when you’re a kid) and then the lemon ricotta cake from her childhood. I always ate the frosting from the store bought cakes to not hurt her feelings but I was smart enough to hold out and be first in line for the homemade lemon wonder.

I still think my favorite part (other than the cake) was bolting through the front door to be met with the intense aroma of the red meat sauce that filled the air and brought me comfort and satisfaction immediately. Imagine waiting 365 days each year for the initial hit…now that’s a food addict.

It usually took her 2 days to make the dinner and we ate it in 2 minutes. Now I personally understand what a complement to a cook that really is, no wonder she never changed the menu.

So here’s to my Aunt Mary, I’m sure there was some different “secret ingredients” but this is as close to perfect as I remember. Hope you’re smiling from above….

Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake
 
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This is great the next day, after it’s completely chilled, and the flavor and texture seems to get better with time. Serve it with a glass of Vin Santo or Moscato.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1⅓ cups cane sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • ¼ cup lemon zest
  • 4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
  • 2½ cups almond meal
  • 10½ oz fresh ricotta
  • Flaked almonds, to decorated
  • Icing sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the base and sides of a 9 inch round springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Place the butter, 1 cup cane sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.
  3. Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the tops with a palette knife, decorate the cake with almond flakes, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until cooked and firm to touch. Allow to cool completely in the cake tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

 

Delicious Pork Posole!

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Growing up in New Mexico, we ate posole all the time. It is especially popular as a dish during the holiday season, braised pork made from scratch and served with hominy and grandma’s homemade red chile sauce.

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to my friend Kathy’s house during the winter holiday break. She came from Mexican heritage and her grandmother always had the task of making the homemade red chile. Inevitably it would be snowing and after playing outside for hours making snow angels and sledding, we would come in frozen and soaked and sure enough there was always a change of clothes and a bowl of posole with homemade tortillas.

Years later I married my husband who is of Mexican decent and I was SURE he was a connoisseur of posole. Of course, before asking if he even liked it much less if he was a connoisseur, I had decided that I needed to become a master. On went the trials of perfecting the red chile sauce. Researching recipes, talking to grandmothers, I did it all and I was sure I was going to please my new groom.

I don’t remember how many chile pods I soaked and pureed nor how many aprons I stained but I do remember that as the date decended nearer and nearer, I realized I was never going to duplicate the heritage sauce and therefore would have to confess that afterall, I really wasn’t a master of posole….

After my last attempt, I slumped on the floor perplexed, I mean seriously, can it be this hard? There has to be something that the grandmother’s left out, was it an ingredient? Cooking time? Love? What was it? I guess at this point, it was a bit late to figure it out.

With my head down in a bit of shame, I went into my husband and got down on my knees and asked for forgiveness. He looked perplexed and a bit panicked really and then I blurted out that I WASN’T a master of his favorite dish and dropped my head on his knee in despair.

He breathed the biggest sign of relief (I guess I didn’t think he might have thought something WAY worse), he began to giggle and then break out into a belly roar. He announced that he wasn’t either, his mother didn’t make posole, and he didn’t like anything that was hot or spicy. OMG, seriously? I could have saved all those chile pods, aprons, and frustrations if I would have asked? I never would have thought that any person from Mexican heritage wasn’t a master of posole…..First lesson ask, second lesson don’t assume.

I decided in that moment that I had an opportunity. Instead, since I hadn’t perfected the red chile sauce much less even attempted the home made hominy, I was going to CREATE my version of posole and win my husbands heart, forever. Perfect.

With that motivation, this is the recipe I came up with. It is a more of a soup than traditional posole.  It is simple with bold flavors and uses both red and green chile. The only improvement that can be made to this dish is to use homemade stock, which is what I usually do.

Delicious Pork Posole!
 
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This is the simplest but BEST posole recipe, hearty and flavorful and gets better after a day or two.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs pork stew meat
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 T dried oregano
  • 2 T New Mexico red chile powder
  • 10 ounces New Mexico green chiles, mild or medium, diced (can used canned if can't find fresh)
  • 2 - 28 ounce cans of hominy, white or yellow
  • 4 quarts low sodium chicken broth, preferably home made
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • Garnishings:
  • green cabbage
  • scallions
  • radishes
  • queso fresco
  • avocados
  • cilantro
Instructions
  1. Cut up meat, onion, and garlic. Peel, seed, and chop green chiles, if fresh. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add, pork, onion, garlic, oregano, and red chile. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and cook until pork is a little "charred" and liquid has evaporated, about 30-40 minutes. Stir often and salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Add green chiles, hominy, and rest of chicken broth and bring to boil. Simmer over heat for 2 hours or until pork is really tender. Season more if necessary.
  3. Serve in large bowls and top with desired toppings