Almond Spongecake

One must be discriminating in the choice of flavors to go with this cake because the fragile flavor of the almonds is easily lost. I have found that the old standbys, vanilla and chocolate, do best with it. You may want to decorate it with sliced almonds.

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

Line the bottom of the pan with foil and butter lightly.

Batter:

6 egg whites

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon almond extract

6 egg yolks

1 cup sifted cake flour

½ cup finely ground, blanched almonds

1. Use Method I for preparing the batter.

2. Pour the batter immediately into the prepared pan and bake on the lowest rack of a preheated 350˚F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

3. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and unmold as described here.