Baking for Passover seems to fill a lot of people with dread. And I get it- when gluten and grains are off-limits, baking can get challenging.
But the truth is, Passover baking doesn’t have to be complicated or produce second-rate results. Some of my favorite desserts are the ones I make for Pesach. The trick? Working with the restrictions instead of against them. Rather than attempt gluten-free versions of the desserts I make year-round (potato starch pound cake will never taste like the real thing, so why bother?) I work with what is allowed, and use ingredients like eggs, nuts and chocolate to create pavlovas, nutty cookies and truffles. I think of it as a time to elevate the classics, and to let simple, good quality ingredients shine.
This almond torte is exactly that kind of dessert. Made with billowy whipped egg whites, almond flour and almond extract, it’s a delicious, tender and almond-forward cake which falls into my favorite category of Passover desserts: incidentally kosher for Passover. It’s the kind of thing I’d make and enjoy year round.
The recipe is versatile: don’t like almond extract? Use vanilla, or skip it. Serve it with lemon curd. Add finely grated chocolate to the batter, or if you have some ricotta laying around, whisk in 1/2 a cup. I like serving this with a simple strawberry rhubarb compote. The sweet-tart fruit is a perfect, seasonal complement to the crackly almond and powdered sugar top of the cake.
Get the recipe here.
retrolillies 
2 responses to “Simplest Almond Torte with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote”
I’d love to know more about the texture you got in this cake. I tried the version with 1/2 cup ricotta added and it seemed both a little too moist and also almost grainy from the almond flour.
Hi! With the added ricotta, I would say it’s got an almost blintz filling-like texture. I like it and I know others who made that version did too but you may not. The version with just almond flour is still moist but a bit more cake-like in texture.