Ingredients
1 large baking potato, about 10 ounces
1 cup almonds, with skins
2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp brandy
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 powdered sugar
1 marzipan potatoes, optional (see re, cipe)
Directions
Bake or microwave potato until soft. Force pulp through a coarse
sieve or potato ricer. There should be 1 cup lightly packed. Set
aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter sides of an 8 1/2-inch spring form pan,
line base with a circle of baking parchment; butter the parchment.
Using a nut mill, grind almonds to powder, stir in baking powder; set
aside.
Beat egg whites until they start to stiffen, sprinkle with half of the
sugar, a little at a time, and continue beating until stiff and
glossy.
Beat butter with remaining sugar, then beat in egg yolks, brandy, and
almond extract. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in potato, ground
almonds and egg whites.
Spoon into prepared pan; bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester
comes out dry. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Run a knife blade around edge before releasing sides of pan. Place
cake, on the base, on a rack and let cool completely. Cake will sink
slightly in the middle. Reverse cake onto a plate, peel off paper
and place right side up on a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar
before serving.
MARZIPAN "POTATOES": You'll need 4 ounces marzipan or almond paste
and powdered unsweetened cocoa.
Pinch off pieces of marzipan and roll into elongated balls, each
about the size of a large marble. Make these slightly irregular,
like tiny new potatoes. Roll in cocoa to simulate brown potato skin.
Cut several in half to show the white interior. Arrange a little
group on top of the cake, and place the rest in twos and threes
around the edge of the plate.
Serves 10.
PER SERVING: 235 calories, 5 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 14 g fat
(5 g saturated), 76 mg cholesterol, 131 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
From an article by Jacqueline Mallorca, San Francisco Chronicle,
2/24/93.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 2 1993.
Servings: 10 servings
Portuguese Almond & Potato Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Nut; Potato
The History of Recipes
Recipes as an idea can be observed way back into history, at least as far as early Egypt, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, sadly, these ancient records were just very simple pictorial instructions for meal preparation.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe found, according to food historians is a collection of tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel wonderful. During Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a number of scripts which described recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he describes how the roman meals were split into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius describes how the ancient cooks used a wide range of aromatic flavors, including some that we all recognise for example bay, fennel and asafoetida. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there are two interesting cookery books published in the 1300s ; a cookery book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these are nothing to do with the curry that appears on menues today, but rather accounts of the types of meals eaten by the upper classes of the period. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and spices from the East, including spices such as parsley and basil. These new spices and herbs prompted a surge in publications on food, some of which are now in private cookery archives. By the arrival of the 1900s, recipe publications are increasing in popularity as a result of increased literacy, increased leisure time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Portuguese Almond & Potato Cake recipe.
