Eretz Yisrael Cake with Orange, Dates, and Marzipan
This cake uses ingredients commonly found-and associated with-the Land of Israel.
Reprinted with permission from The Foods of Israel Today (Knopf).
Israeli chef Celia Regev created this orange cake to incorporate all the ingredients she loves from her adopted land.
Ingredients
1 cup finely ground almonds or almond flour
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 2 oranges
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup marzipan (store bought or homemade)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup candied citrus peel, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper cut into a circle.
Place the sugar, marzipan, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle; beat to break up the marzipan until it is the texture of sand.
Replace the paddle with the whisk and add the eggs to the marzipan mixture. Whisk until light, fluffy, and pale yellow in color.
Take 2 tablespoons of the flour and sprinkle over the dates and candied citrus peel in a small bowl. This flour coating prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.
Sift the remaining flour, the baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
Replace the whisk with the paddle and add the sifted dry ingredients, orange juice, and melted butter to the marzipan-egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Don't overmix-the batter should be soft and creamy. Fold in the dates and citrus peel.
Pour the batter into the springform mold, tap the mold a couple of times against the counter to remove the air bubbles, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes.
To make marzipan:
Place the almonds and sugar in a food processor equipped with a steel blade and process, adding just enough egg white to bind the sugar and the almonds together.
