Ouzo Scented Almond Yogurt And Olive Oil Cake Food

OUZO-SCENTED ALMOND, YOGURT, AND OLIVE OIL CAKE

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Brush two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch metal loaf pans with olive oil. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper; brush parchment with olive oil. Spread 1 1/2 cups almonds on rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven 10 minutes. Cool. Transfer to processor and coarsely grind (some small almond pieces should remain); set aside. Finely chop 1/2 cup untoasted almonds in processor. Boil ouzo in small saucepan until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool.
• Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped untoasted almonds over bottom of each pan. Whisk flour, ground star anise, baking powder, sea salt, and ground toasted almonds in large bowl.
• Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 1 1/2 cups sugar in medium bowl until well blended (mixture will look grainy at first). Add 1 cup light olive oil; beat 1 minute. Add ouzo and yogurt and beat until well blended, about 30 seconds. Gradually add flour mixture to yolk mixture, beating just until incorporated (batter will be thick).
• Using dry clean beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten. Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans (about 3 1/2 cups for each). Sprinkle each with remaining finely chopped untoasted almonds, dividing equally. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake cakes until golden brown and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature.

ALMOND CITRUS OLIVE OIL CAKE

Steps:

• To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch-diameter cake pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the almonds. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Place cake pan on baking pan to collect any possible spills. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake and place on serving platter, top side up. Sift powdered sugar over the cake.
• To make the citrus compote: Stir the orange peel, blossom water, and 2 tablespoons of accumulated juices from the segmented fruit in a small bowl to blend. Arrange the orange and grapefruit segments decoratively in a wide shallow bowl. Pour the blossom water mixture over. Cover and let stand 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.
• Cut the cake into wedges and spoon the citrus compote alongside.

ALMOND OLIVE OIL BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Brush a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with olive oil; dust with flour and tap out the excess. Whisk the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Combine the granulated sugar and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly beat in the olive oil until the batter is smooth. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the almond milk, until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 15 minutes in the pan. Loosen with an offset spatula, then invert onto the rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk in a bowl until smooth; stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon milk if the glaze is too thick. Spoon the glaze over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and chopped almonds. Let the glaze set, about 20 minutes.

ALMOND-AND-ORANGE YOGURT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper; butter paper. In a small saucepan, combine 2/3 cup sugar, water, and orange-zest strips. Bring to a simmer over medium-high; cook until sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Set syrup aside to steep.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flours, almonds, grated orange zest, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately beat in flour mixture and yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan; bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert onto a rimmed serving plate. Using a fork, poke shallow holes (about 15) into top of cake. Pour half the syrup over cake; garnish with orange-zest strips from syrup. Let cool completely. Serve with yogurt and remaining syrup.