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I first ate Almond Tart at O Cantinho restaurant in Carvoeiro. The combination of light sponge and nutty caramel topping was so good I was determined to recreate it when I got home. However, the first one I made, for a dinner party, had a topping more like an almond brittle than the soft caramel I had experienced in O Cantinho and my guests nearly broke their teeth on it. I have experimented with the recipe since then and after several attempts have now perfected a version that is very similar to O Cantinho’s. This recipe has a very light sponge topped with sliced almonds in a caramel sauce. It can be eaten on its own or served with crème fraiche or vanilla ice-cream.
Ingredients
Cake:
120g self-raising flour
150g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
100 ml plain yoghurt
20 ml milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
80g melted butter, cooled to room temperature
Almond Caramel Sauce:
150g granulated sugar
15 ml water
40g butter
100 ml single cream
40 ml golden syrup
⅛ tsp salt
100g sliced almonds
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Beat egg, yoghurt, milk and vanilla extract together until smooth. Stir in melted butter.
- Add flour mixture and mix with spoon until nearly smooth.
- Turn into a buttered 23 cm spring form cake tin.
- Bake until centre of cake springs back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes.
- Remove from oven.
- Heat 75g sugar with 15 ml water in a pan until it turns a rich reddish brown.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter.
- Add the remaining sugar, golden syrup, cream and salt.
- Return to the heat and bring to the boil, watching that it doesn’t boil over.
- Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until it reaches 130°C on a sugar thermometer.
- Remove from the heat and stir the sliced almonds into the sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the cake (still in the cake tin) while still hot and spread evenly.
- Grill about 15 cm from heat until almonds are lightly toasted.
- Cool on rack for 15 minutes.
- Using knife or spatula, loosen sides between pan and cake, then cool completely before releasing the spring form cake tin.
