There are several perks to writing a food blog, the best being the excuse to have delicious cakes, like this almond chiffon cake, in the house at all times. The only person who has an issue with this is my personal trainer, but I just remind him what job security it is for him. I also have an extensive (300+) cookbook library that I attribute to “research” when my husband asks where we will put them all, now that my book shelves are over flowing. Then there are the products companies send me to critique and review. I have received everything from peanut flour (which I adore) to a confectionery funnel (which is for portion control of pancakes and other runny stuff. Really, you have to make your pancakes the exact same size???). I will never review or endorse a product I don’t actually love and find value in.
Now back to the baking…this cake was inspired by my trip to Italy this past summer. The man who owned the home we rented introduced me to his favorite cookie, the ricciarelli. They are made from almond paste and egg whites baked into little rich clouds and dusted with pure white confectioners’ sugar. I was completely addicted to them after the first bite. They are available all over Tuscany and when baked fresh you want to sing their praises. The stale ones you buy in the tin are to be avoided and unfortunately that is what most of us have tried. After writing this description I realize I need to create and post a recipe for the actual cookie, but for now I have a cake that it inspired. It is light and spongy, but at the same time decadent because of the almond paste. The cake is great on its own with a cup of coffee for breakfast or with ice cream or coulis for dessert.
For recipe…
Ricciarelli cookies on the counter in San Gimignano (the best I had).
A typical day’s sampling of the local Tuscan bakery.
(My average breakfast when traveling. Now you see why I need the personal trainer.)
Ricciarelli (rich-ee-a-relly) Chiffon Cake
2 cups (220g) Cake Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
7 ounces (200g) Almond Paste
5 egg yolks
1 cup (200g) sugar
1/2 cup (118 ml) oil (I used 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup vegetable oil)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 egg whites
confectioner’s sugar for the top
To make the cake: preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. Cream the almond paste until smooth and then add egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, oil, water and extracts. Cream together until smooth, about 3 minutes, set aside.
Whip the egg whites until foamy then add 1/2 cup sugar and whip until stiff peaks, they should be stiff enough to hold onto the whip when lifted out of the bowl, but the peak will be soft enough to flop over like a dairy queen ice cream cone. (If you over whip the egg whites they will not have any elasticity left to rise when they get to the oven.) Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the whites and fold it in gently using a rubber spatula. Repeat two more times with remaining flour.
Fold the egg white mixture into the almond paste mixture, again in 3 additions.
Place the batter into an ungreased 10-Inch Tube Pan
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Remove almond chiffon cake from the oven and invert the pan over the neck of a bottle to cool. This guarantees that the cake will not collapse while cooling.
Dust almond chiffon cake with lots of confectioners’ sugar and enjoy!
I have my grandmother’s tofu maker (press?). I think it’s probably from the 50s and isn’t new but is in its original box. I’ve never used it but can’t bring myself to get rid of it.
I have a mechanical sifter that you squeeze with your hand – it’s great for sprinkling icing sugar on things. I stole it from my parents who have had it for over 30 yrs.
I too have a mini whisk. I use it all the time too. I have mini cupcake spatulas which also are really handy. I don’t have a pickle pincher which I always thought was the funniest gadget. You cant just use a fork or your fingers?
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My strangest kitchen appliance, which actually gets alot of use, is my bagel guillotine. It deftly slices through bagel while protecting your fingers. Wholly satisfying… or is it hole-y? I have given many as gifts.
My father in law gifted my hubby with “Lettuce Knife” – a bright neon green plastic knife that is supposedly not going to turn lettuce brown… We have them sitting in the drawer.
I would say a cherry pitter (from W-S). I used to work there (holidays) so I got some stuff that I thought I would use. But, I have only used it once.
I try to keep only useful tools in my small kitchen (but well-stocked).
W-S gift cards are awesome! Thank you!
Hmm… I can’t really think of any odd kitchen tools, although I have definitely been sucked in by the cheesy late-night infomercials. I saddly do have the crazy onion slicer, onion goggles (I’m sensing a trend here), Slap Chop, etc. hiding around my kitchen. To redeem myself, haha, my favorite is definitely my Kitchenaid. =)
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I have a little plastic orange peeler that is worn like a ring to start the peel and a tiny funnel for filling salt and pepper shakers. Surprisingly useful, both of them…. I’m coveting that angel food cake comb in the final photo, but will make do with a serrated knife when I make this cake!
My oddest kitchen tool I own is what looks like a set of silicone jacks, but is meant to be used instead of a trivet. It works, but I get the funniest looks when I pull them out.
The oddest thing in my kitchen is an egg separator! I got it in my stocking several Christmases ago and have yet to use it. Who needs an egg separator when I have two hands?
Oddest tool in our kitchen is a “banana saver”. You put it on the cut end of a banana to “save” it for later. It doesn’t work. Lesson learned about buying uni-taskers.
I have a couple of Rachel Ray’s “Mopines” Not sure why she calls them that. They are “Dish Towel/Hot Pads…a two in one thing. It seems like a good idea, but when you wash them the hot pad part just bunches up into a blob.
Can’t wait to make this cake. I have everything in my pantry to make it…oh wait, I will go buy the King Arthur cake flour first.
P.S. you are so right King Arthur Flour and Red Star Yeast make your bread recipes shine. (I’ve tried others…this is best)
I don’t have too many odd gadgets in my kitchen, but I do have an unhealthy number of cake pans and cookie cutters. They won’t even fit in any of my cabinets, so they’re all over. And my stand mixer and zester are by far my two favorite tools.
What do you do with your peanut flour? I found a small bag at my grocery store recently with the idea of making PB&J macarons, but now I don’t know what else to make with it. Any suggestions?
My oddest kitchen gadget: my Hello Kitty stuffed sandwich maker. Do I use it? Sometimes, when the kids need a lunch to take to school. It was a fun purchase, though.
I wouldn’t say the oddest tool is my egg slicer, but I use it all the time and even to slice things like strawberries….I love it.
I don’t have the room in my tiny apartment for anything too odd, but my whoopie pie pan is probably the most specific kitchen object I have! Mmmmm whoopie pies!
Favorite useless gadget that I can’t do without has got to by my infared laser thermometer. I don’t need to know that the temp of my WFO to the tenth of a degree… but it sure is cool to know.
My mom is a fan of odd kitchen utensils and she always gets me random miniature whisks, little spoons and even tiny measuring spoons for a “pinch” of an ingredient.
don’t have any odd tools, i love my microplane and my bench scraper.
An antique citrus juicer that I found at the Goodwill. Very very scary looking but it gets the job done.
The oddest tool we have is an old wooden spoon. It was hand-carved from a slightly bent piece of wood, so there is a slight curve to the handle. The bowl of the spoon is off-center, as well, so one side of the bowl is bigger that the other. However, it’s a great spoon! It fits your hand better because of the slight curve, and you can get into the bottom of pots to stir better because of the off-set bowl! It’s usually the first one I reach for when I’m at the stove.
The strangest thing in my kitchen is the bagel slicer. It makes no sense to me STILL that my boyfriend would by an entire gadget to do the exact same thing a knife does.
I have a miniature whisk, rubber spatula and silicone brush. Amazingly, they sometimes get more use than the full-size versions!
This cake looks so good. I will have to have some friends over and try it soon!
I wouldn’t say “odd” but rather “most hilarious.” My sweet friend gave me a wooden spoon for my birthday this year, where the spoon bowl is shaped like a heart. I unwrapped it and squealed, and then turned it upside down and said, “It looks like a butt.” (IT TOTALLY DOES) She thought my response was a rather hilarious illustration of me in general. 😀 I love stirring bread dough with my butt-spoon!
probably the strangest kitchen gadget I have are those little Japanese molds that you slip a hot hard-boiled egg into and it comes out later shaped like a star, or a hello -kitty face or whatever. I used them once.