Recipe

Sorta Torta Anacaprese

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This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Citrus Recipe
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Midge's Notes: I fell in love with Torta Anacaprese— a not-too-sweet lemon almond cake-- on a visit to Capri a few years ago. I ate it every chance I got in the short time I was there; it’s killer for breakfast...
I fell in love with Torta Anacaprese— a not-too-sweet lemon almond cake-- on a visit to Capri a few years ago. I ate it every chance I got in the short time I was there; it’s killer for breakfast, especially with a shot of espresso. The only recipes I could find online were in Italian, so I reworked a recipe for torta di limone, amping up the citrus and incorporating almond flour and toasted almonds. The result isn’t quite the torta I remember—I might have to go back to Italy for that--but a lovely, lemony cake all the same.

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Serves 8-10

2 1/4 cups AP flour Ask a question about this ingredient

3/4 cups almond meal/flour Ask a question about this ingredient

2 teaspoons baking powder Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon baking soda Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient

12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for buttering cake pan Ask a question about this ingredient

1 1/2 cup sugar, divided Ask a question about this ingredient

4 large eggs Ask a question about this ingredient

1/3 cup lemon zest (from about 5-6 lemons) Ask a question about this ingredient

3/4 cups lemon juice, divided Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup whole milk Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup water Ask a question about this ingredient

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9-inch bundt or springform pan.
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Whisk flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder, and soda together; set aside.
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In a standing mixer, cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and mix on high for 5 minutes.
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Gradually fold in the dry ingredients, alternating with ¼ cup of the lemon juice and ¼ cup of milk until blended.
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Scrap batter—it’ll be thick --into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.
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While the cake is baking, combine the remaining ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup of lemon juice, and water in a small saucepan and boil until the sugar melts and the syrup is slightly thickened.
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When the cake is done, let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Using a skewer or toothpick, poke the cake all over and pour most of the syrup (reserve about 3 tablespoons) slowly over the cake. Let it absorb the syrup until it’s completely cool.
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In the meantime, thicken the reserved syrup by boiling it further until it reaches the consistency of glaze.
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Turn cooled cake onto serving plate and brush it with the glaze. Press toasted almonds onto sticky surface as best you can and voila!
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14 Comments on Sorta Torta Anacaprese

gingerroot added 4 months ago

What a lovely cake, Midge! I love the almond-lemon combination - I bet it is incredibly fragrant.

Midge added 3 months ago

Thanks so much gingerroot!

EmilyC added 4 months ago

This looks insanely delicious! I love your incorporation of almonds and almond flour. It reminds me of a cake I made about a week ago (lemon bliss from King Arthur Flour) but yours sounds better! And I would be all over this breakfast! : )

EmilyC added 4 months ago

umm, meant "for breakfast"

Midge added 4 months ago

Thanks EmilyC! I've been chipping away at it this week for breakfast and um, second breakfast.

EmilyC added 4 months ago

"Second breakfast" -- love that term!