Crunchy, Toasted Honey-Almond Cake with Eggnog Custard Filling

Have you ever had a Burnt Almond Cake?
I had my first Burnt Almond Cake back in 2007 and I still remember that experience vividly. It was a cold December day in San Jose.
The occasion? My colleagues had decided to throw a birthday party for me (unbeknownst to me at that time). We gathered at Tiffany's place after work on a Friday, me with my cookies and holiday bakes since I had thought it was to usher in the holiday season. There was an eclectic spread of food that evening, from crudites to appetizing fried wings to spicy Thai Tom Yum (authentic as it was cooked by my Thai friend) and of course, holiday desserts. But there was no cake. I didn't see any cake on the buffet table, well, until an hour or so into our meal, someone took out a cake with a lone candle on top of it and place it right in front of me! A cake with lots of nuts covering the entire surface, including the sides. It looked pretty much like any other cake, well, any ordinary birthday packed with lots of nuts. It was not until after the birthday song-singing, candle-blowing, cake-cutting.....until I had sunk my teeth into the first bite that I knew, it was no ordinary cake. Since that day, I have been hooked on Burnt Almond Cake.


The sweet & crunchy toasted honey-almonds on the cake were just wonderful. If you love nut brittles you'll definitely love Burnt Almond Cake. The sweetness of caramelized almonds combined with the toasty brown-buttery fragrance (hence the name "Burnt Almond") after being coated with butter, powdered sugar and honey, roasted slowly over low heat. The almond is the star of this cake, its toasted flavor made even more prominent when paired with a simple, delicate white cake with custard filling.
Ever since my first Burnt Almond Cake, I've never looked back and for me, it's THE cake of choice for any celebrations. Jen's Festive Cake.
As we're entering the holiday season (and yes, my birthday is coming up too!), I wanted to make my version of the Burnt Almond Cake by incorporating other favorite holiday ingredients: spices and eggnog! The white cake has a light hint of cinnamon and all-spice. A dash of whisky and sprinkling of grated nutmeg to spice up the custard and voila, you have eggnog custard filling for the cake! Combined with the crunchy goodness of the honey-toasted almonds, this is the cake that just screams "let the holidays start NOW!!"
I've decided to submit this recipe for the Bon Appetit Holiday Bakeoff contest. 2009 has been quite a roller-coaster ride. Wouldn't it just be wonderful to end the year with the thrill of my very first win in a baking competition?!? Please vote for me here!! Thanks for your support!
I had so much fun not only with the baking;the photoshoot session was such a blast! Chistmas jingles playing in the background, my beloved hubby clicking away on his camera, trying to perfect every shot, me helping with the props and co-playing the role of creative director at the same time. We make a great team!

Let the holidays begin!

White Spice Cake (adapted from Sylvia Weinstock's Sensational Cakes)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 large egg whites

Method:
Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Butter two 8" round cake pan and line bottom with parchment.
Sift and combine dry ingredients; set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (@ medium speed for ~ 2 mins)
Combine wet ingredients.
Add wet ingredients to batter, alternate with flour mixture. End with dry ingredients. Set aside.
Using a clean whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high speed in a separate, clean bowl
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-40 mins until the sides of the cake pull away from the pan or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean.


Eggnog Custard
Ingredients:
2 cups fat-free milk
2 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whisky
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:
To make the eggnog custard:
Reserve 2 tablespoon sugar; set aside
Combine egg yolks, 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch in a bowl.
Heat remaining milk and sugar. until steaming.
Whisk in egg yolk mixture slowly; cook over low heat until the custard thickens. Remove from the heat, stir in vanilla, whisky and grated nutmeg.
Set aside to cool slightly.
Whisk eggwhites and cream of tartar in a separate bowl over a double-boiler (boil 1/2 cup water in a pot, turn heat to medium once water boils and place the bowl of eggwhites over the pot of boiling water).
Whisk in the 2 tablespoon sugar slowly.
Whisk until soft peak forms.
Remove from double boiler.
Slowly whisk in the eggwhites into the cooled custard mixture.
Whisk until the mixture is light.
Set aside.

Note: if you do not want to go through the trouble, you can use pre-made vanilla custard or store-bought non-dairy pastry cream but then again, it's always worth it to take the extra effort and make from scratch just for the holidays!!


For the Toasted Honey-Almond
Ingredients:
1 pound almonds (I used a combination of sliced and chopped almonds)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar (yes, you read it correctly - it's a full one and half pounds!)
1/2 cup honey
*Note: I always toast the almonds in large batches. This recipe yields enough almonds to cover two cakes so you can store the remaining toasted almonds in an air-tight container for future use.
Method:
Melt butter on a good, heavy base, non-stick wide pan on low heat
Pour in sliced almonds. Coat almonds with melted butter.
Slowly stir in powdered sugar
Continue stirring and coating almonds with butter-sugar mixture - keep stirring to prevent from sticking or burning
Stop when almonds have been fully coated and are lightly browned. This can take a good 45 mins - 1 hour but patience pays off. You'll love the wonderful aroma of browned almonds!
Stir in honey and stir for 5 mins.
Set aside to cool


To assemble the cake:
Once cake is cool, half the cake and add eggnog custard on the bottom layer. Pour a handful of toasted almonds on top of the eggnog custard, scattering them evenly across the layer. Place the other half of the cake on top of the bottom layer, sandwiching the eggnog-almonds filling. Frost the whole cake with remaining custard, then pat the toasted almonds over all sides, covering the entire cake.