Gâteau aux amandes grillées, fraises et crème

Ingrédients

• For cake:
• 100 gm whole almonds
• 180 gm caster sugar
• 150 gm soft unsalted butter
• 6 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 gm all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 250 gm fresh strawberries (hulled and halved)

Préparation

1. 1

   Blanch the almonds in boiling water for 10 minutes. Rinse under cold water and let stand for 10 minutes. Peel the skin off the almonds by squishing gently using your fingers.

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 356 F.

3. 3

   Spread the almonds in single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

4. 4

   Roast in oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until almonds look golden in colour, taking care not to burn them. Take out of oven and let cool completely. Once almonds have cooled completely, grind them in a food processor to make a fine powder. Blitz the almonds and keep checking and stirring a couple of times in between to avoid making a paste out of them.

5. 5

   Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 356 F. Grease a 8 inch springform cake pan and dust with flour and keep aside.

6. 6

   In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together, until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl, after each addition.

7. 7

   In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, salt and baking powder and fold the flour mixture into butter and egg mixture, until just combined.

8. 8

   Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean, if inserted into the centre of the cake. Cover the cake loosely with a silver foil after 30 minutes of baking. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes and then on a wire rack.

9. 9

   For topping, whip the cream and icing sugar in a bowl to make soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream on top of cooled cake and top with halved strawberries.