— Jonathan Kauffman, jkauffman@sfchronicle.
Flourless Whole Orange Poppy Seed Cake With Lemon Curd
Serves 6-8
From Ry Stephen of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse. The orange puree and lemon curd can be made ahead. You’ll have plenty of leftover curd, which is great to spread on just about anything from good bread or biscuits to fruit. This cake should be very moist when it finishes baking, and is best served at room temperature.
Lemon curd
- 200 grams cracked eggs
- (about 4 large eggs) 200 grams (1 cup) sugar 200 grams (about 7 ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice 200 grams (14 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small cubes
- Grated zest of 3 lemons
Cake
- 270 grams cracked eggs (about 5-6 large eggs)
- 180 grams (scant 1 cup) sugar
- 275 grams (about 2¾ cups) almond meal or almond flour
- 2 grams (½ teaspoon) baking powder
- 50 grams (about ¼ cup + 1½ tablespoons) poppy seeds
- 140 grams (about 1¼ cups) orange puree (see Note)
- 7 grams (about 1½ teaspoons)
- Cointreau
For the lemon curd: Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a small saucepan. Add the lemon juice and whisk again to combine. Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until a thermometer reaches 185 degrees. Remove from the heat and continue stirring for 5 minutes.
Strain the curd into into a large bowl; let sit about 10 minutes. Add the cold butter, and combine with an immersion blender or hand-held mixture until the butter is fully incorporated. Stir in the lemon zest. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the lemon curd and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan; set aside.
Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk at low speed about 5 minutes. Add the orange puree; whisk about 1 minute.
Combine the almond meal, baking powder and poppy seeds, and add to the bowl; whisk about 1 minute. Add the Cointreau and whisk 1 minute more.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour, or until the top is golden and cracks, and a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool to room temperature before unmolding. Serve with the lemon curd.
Note: To make the orange puree, simmer 2 whole small seedless oranges in water until they can be easily pierced through to the center with a knife. Transfer to a high-speed blender or a food processor and puree until smooth. Cool before adding to the cake.
