Toucinho do Céu — Portuguese Almond Cake

A dense, rich almond cake made with egg yolks and a cinnamon-scented sugar syrup, from the convents of Portugal.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 40 min
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
✅
Serves
12 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 250g caster sugar
  • 100ml water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Strip of lemon zest
  • 250g ground almonds
  • 10 egg yolks
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Butter and flour, for the tin
  • Icing sugar, to dust

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Butter and flour a 23cm round cake tin.

  2. Heat the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and lemon zest strip in a pan until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 6 to 8 minutes until thick and syrupy. Discard the cinnamon stick and zest and cool for 10 minutes.

  3. Stir the ground almonds into the warm syrup, then beat in the egg yolks and whole eggs one at a time.

  4. Add the ground cinnamon and lemon zest and mix well.

  5. Pour into the tin and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden, set and slightly domed.

  6. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out and dust with icing sugar. Serve in thin slices.