Toasted-Almond Poundcake With Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

Recipe from Gotham Bar and Grill

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Toasted-Almond Poundcake With Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Rating
4(160)
Comments
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Poundcake is like brownies: a baker's challenge that sounds like child's play. The name itself is traditionally half the recipe – a pound each of butter, eggs, sugar and flour – but the technique is critical to producing a cake that is so tender it can stand alone but is still sturdy enough to hold up under a fruit compote, ice cream or sauce. This recipe, adapted from Joseph Murphy, a pastry chef at Gotham Bar and Grill, calls for melting the butter first, beating the eggs and sugar together until they are very thick, then whisking in the flours and the butter. Although the proportions are the same as for any other poundcake, the result is almost spongy, with a fine crumb. —Melissa Clark

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • 1cup (2 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 5large eggs
  • 1¾cups sugar, plus more to taste
  • 1⅓cups almond flour
  • 1¼cups cake flour
  • ½teaspoon salt
  • 1teaspoon grated tangerine zest
  • 2tablespoons sliced almonds
  • 2pounds strawberries, hulled
  • 4cups trimmed, sliced rhubarb
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

679 calories; 39 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 76 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 51 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 198 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Set aside to cool.

  2. Step 2

    Using an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat eggs and 1 cup sugar until thick and pale, about 3 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    In a bowl, sift together almond flour, cake flour and zest. Fold ⅓ of the flour mixture into eggs until thoroughly combined. Fold in rest of flour in 2 batches. Fold in all but 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Scrape batter into pan, and sprinkle almonds on top. Brush remaining butter over almonds.

  4. Step 4

    Bake cake until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. If the top of the cake seems to be getting overly browned before the center is set, cover with foil and continue baking. Let cool on a rack before inverting.

  5. Step 5

    Meanwhile, make the compote. In a medium saucepan, combine 12 ounces of the strawberries, the rhubarb, ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit breaks down into a puree. Let mixture cool, then taste and add more sugar if desired.

  6. Step 6

    Just before serving, place remaining strawberries in a large skillet, and sprinkle with sugar to taste. Cook strawberries over high heat until they release their juices and sugar dissolves. Serve slices of the poundcake surrounded by strawberry-rhubarb compote and topped with strawberries.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
160 user ratings
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Comments

Mary Beth

Question: why is it called toasted? Do you toast the cake slices just prior to serving?

Dan

The description for the recipe refers to whisking the flour mixture and the butter into the beaten eggs and sugar. The recipe calls for folding it in. Whisking and folding are not the same. Is it to be folded in like egg whites in some recipes or is it to be whisked?

Nan

The almonds sprinkled on top of the batter before baking become toasted while the cake is baking.

BJ

Very dense, not much flavor and with all those eggs and 1cup better - no bang for the buck. And as many have already stated, directions are ambiguous.

Kim

Consolidating here — Read all the steps twice before you start. You may need to reserve some ingredients for later steps. Almond meal and almond flour are the same. Cake flour will give you a lighter texture than if you paired the almond flour with all purpose flour. Whisk the egg/sugar mixture until it is quite thick. Use a high speed on a mixer to do this. Reviewers who complained about the batter being too thin and too much for a loaf pan probably didn’t whisk enough. Yes, add the salt with the other dry ingredients. If you don’t have packaged sliced almonds, you can blanch whole raw almonds and then slice them. Any citrus zest will probably work just fine in this recipe. You can dial back on the sugar if you’re planning to include a very sugary topping.

DawnB

Despite my efforts to ruin it, this turned out amazing. I neglected to watch the butter so it boiled a bit. I didn't sift the flours and missed the salt in the ingredient list. I whisked in the flours instead of folding. I used a standard glass loaf pan and it fit just fine. I used the full amount of butter for the almonds (poured rather than brushed -- either more almonds or less butter). I used lemon zest instead of tangerine because it's what I had. Delicious and 100% would make again.

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Credits

Adapted from Gotham Bar and Grill

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