How to Make Torta Del Re for Passover

Torta del Re, or King's Cake, is an Italian flourless almond cake. Because there is no flour in a torta del re, many people choose to make this delectable dessert for Passover. The recipe to make torta del re calls for many different ingredients, but is simple to follow.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 10-inch circular spring form cake pan
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter or margarine
• Paper towels or wax paper
• Small bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Electric mixer
• Food processor
• Whisk
• 5 eggs
• Salt
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cups blanched almonds
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 lemon
• Small cheese grater
• Powdered sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Use paper towels or wax paper to grease your spring form pan with the butter or margarine. Set the pan aside until you have finished making the cake batter.

3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Put the yolks aside in a small bowl for a few minutes until you need them.

4. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Beat the mixture with an electric mixer until firm peaks have formed.

5. Whisk the egg yolks until they begin to foam. Gradually add sugar to the foamy yolks and continue to whisk until the mixture is light yellow in color.

6. Chop the blanched almonds by hand or in a food processor. Pulse the food processor rather than let it run continuously to ensure that you will not make a paste of the almonds. Once the nuts are finely chopped, add them to the egg yolks.

7. Use a small cheese grater to remove the zest of a lemon. Stir the zest into the yolk and sugar mixture.

8. Incorporate the egg whites into the stiff batter by thirds to loosen it up. By the time the last third of the egg whites has been folded into the rest of the batter, it should be easier to stir.

9. Pour the torta del re batter into the prepared spring form pan and place into the preheated oven.

10. Let the cake bake for a full hour. Avoid opening the oven door to check on it to keep the cake from falling.

11. Open the oven a crack after 60 minutes and turn off the heat. Allow the cake to cool in the oven for 15 minutes before you remove it.

12. Remove the sides of the pan after your Passover cake has finished cooling. Dust powdered sugar over the top of the cake before serving.

Tips & Warnings

• Check the label of the powdered sugar for cornstarch before you buy it to use on the torta del re. Cornstarch is not allowed during Passover. If you cannot find cornstarch-free sugar, omit this from the recipe.