It adds a similar bright lift to that of lemon juice. I also like the tartness that buttermilk brings to this bake. In this recipe, the buttermilk interacts with the baking powder to give the cake a nice lift and light texture. Baking soda is also three times stronger than baking powder. It only requires the addition of a liquid to kick its leavening into action. Baking powder is a blend of baking soda and an acid (usually cream of tartar). When you add an acid and a liquid to baking soda, it works to neutralize the acids and creates air bubbles in the process. One of the things I love about baking with buttermilk is how it works with sodium bicarbonate-based leaveners to develop tender baked goods.īaking soda is 100 percent sodium bicarbonate. Buttermilk makes this almond cake so tender To learn more about the nuances of almond paste, marzipan and even frangipane, check out this post in Bon Appétit. If you are looking for something a little different around the holidays, these are a truly special treat.Īnd then there’s frangipane, which begins with an almond paste base, but uses eggs, butter, flour and other ingredients to make batters for baked pastries – which is essentially what we are creating in this recipe. They’re a little fussy, but a great way to use up leftover buttercream and cake scraps. I use marzipan in my recipe for Darn Good Dammsugare – a traditional Swedish dessert that is rolled in marzipan. This translates into a sweeter, smoother, more pliable dough for modeling. Marzipan consists of approximately 26 percent almonds and has a much higher ratio of sugar. It also holds up better in baking than marzipan. The texture is a little soft, a little sticky and can even be called grainy. Most commercially produced almond pastes consist of 45 percent almonds that are processed with sugar until a finely milled paste is formed. Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe, right? Not exactly. To be clear, this simple almond cake recipe calls for almond paste, not marzipan.

Almond paste cake recipe