Heavenly Cake Bakers ~ Almond Shamah Chiffon Cake

Oh my fellow Heavenly Cake Bakers! I was so darn excited about Rose's book coming out, and have been wearing such rosy glasses, that I couldn't even conceive of not participating. Oh sure, I thought I might have to miss the first few because of someone in my family having major surgery (and my kitchen undergoing a minor remodel) in October, but I could still bake a cake a week right? Of course I could. It would be easy!

*sigh*

Well, it has not been easy, and I am running behind my compatriots, but it has been really fun. The best part is making recipes I would not have otherwise chosen, amongst the plethora of beautiful recipes in Rose's Heavenly Cakes. I had a few problems with the Almond Shamah Chiffon, most entirely my own fault.  First, you will notice from the photo, that I toasted blanched whole almonds, and not blanched sliced almonds. Second, I was being lazy, and wanted to grind the almonds in my mini chopper, and not the food processor (bad idea). As you can imagine those whole nuts never quite made it to a fine powder. I wondered if that caused the almond/flour mixture to sink, or whether it would have sunk anyhow.

The nuts were actually delicious in the finished product, though one taster declared the cake had "a lot to chew through". Oh, how I betrayed Rose's work on this incredibly light, airy, and tender cake....
 
What's the big deal, you say? So there's a few chunks of almonds? Well, due to my second stroke of laziness, or could it be lazy eye when reading the recipe, I had seeded raspberry jam instead of seedless. Yet again, I had the opportunity to mitigate by straining it, and yet again, I could not be bothered. 

Well, look at all those seeds in there. And I over beat the cream a bit, too. But this is not catalog of errors to explain a cake gone wrong; this is a testament to how wonderful Rose's recipes are! Even with the ingredients I unwittingly substituted, and using too much force with the whisk, and nearly dropping a layer on the floor (but actually just tearing it), the cake still turned out beautifully and most tasters went back for a second slice. Only one taster commented on the seeds - and several others loves the texture!

I loved the almond chiffon (even with the nuts), and will certainly be using the frosting again (just whip cream and stir in SEEDLESS jam toward the end- what could be simpler?), but it did not need the amaretto syrup. I made my cakes the day before as directed, and leveled and syruped the day of serving. Most tasters found the amaretto syrup a little too up front and center. I don't like the boozy smell in this cake, and I only used half of the syrup, and it still seemed to make the cage a bit too soggy for my taste. Amaretto was the first thing I tasted, and that was not a good thing. The syrup mellows wonderfully into the cake (but still leaves it soggy) by the next day, but by this point, the raspberry whipped cream is not at its best. I would skip the syrup next time.

Of course, I am now nitpicking what was described to me as eating "almond raspberry clouds"!

Thanks for letting me share my somewhat clumsy first Heavenly Cake attempt with you. Check out all the other Heavenly Cake Bakers. Hopefully I can catch up with everyone tonight!

Comments

[Bungalow Barbara]

Lovely! How wonderful that it turned out delicous despite the problems!

[Rachelino]

Thanks for your kind words Barbara- your pumpkin cupcakes look good! :)

[faithy]

I agree with Barbara! Your cake looks lovely!

[Jenn]

Rachel, I also toast whole almonds, though I process it to fine powder in the food processor. I love how you decorate the cake - nice swirls!

[Rachelino]

Jenn- that is because you are smart, and not as lazy as I was. The minichopper is light and was on the dishrack. I cannot wait until our kitchen (which is in the middle of a minor facelift) will have storage space for the food processor that is a little higher than a ground-level cabinet. Until then, I will just have to stoop. But I vow, no more shortcuts like this! (disclaimer: Shortcuts may be made based on not wanting to buy a special pan when another one will do.)

[Jenn]

Rachel - I'm not that smart. Before I gave in and purchase the food processor,s I processed the whole almonds with mini chopper. I think I ruined the blade! Oh well, it's too late. But I love my food processor and am glad I bought it.

[ps3 manette]

That is too nice to be a first attempt. Rose's Heavenly Cakes has some wonderful cake recipes. I like it very much.