ALMOND LOAF CAKE WITH CARAMEL & TOASTED ALMONDS

Hi, friends. Rita here. Today we’re bringing you a recipe that has recently turned me into a sugar-junkie. If the same thing happens to you, I suppose I owe you an apology. Then again, you owe me a thank you. Do we have a deal? Forgive me for introducing you to an almond cake addiction. An also, you’re welcome. Let me explain.

For the past few months, we were convinced that this year’s Easter recipe would be something specific: an almond upside-down cake inspired by folar — the traditional Portuguese Easter bread, typically scented with cinnamon, anise, and a hint of caramel warmth. Think soft, fragrant, subtly spiced: everything a spring celebration should taste like. The upside-down part would be a caramel with slivered almonds lining the bottom of the tin, which would become the topping once the cake was flipped. I’ve baked more cakes in my life than I can count, so I nailed the batter on the very first test. Proudly. But this delicate relationship between cake and caramel refused to work. Not on the first attempt, not on the second, not even on the fourth.

Shallow cake pan: the liquid caramel crept up the sides and escaped (cleaning melted caramel out of the oven was a delight). Thicker caramel: impossible to unmould without the whole thing coming apart. Caramel at exactly the right consistency and staying put: the cake still rose unevenly, which cause the topping to shatter the moment we flipped the cake to unmould it. Well. Sometimes you really have to admit defeat. Just over a week of testing gave us no sharable recipe, but it did give us omnipresent, delicious cake: exactly the texture and flavour we wanted, with absolutely no aesthetics to speak of. And you don’t just let delicious cake go to waste, do you? It’s been an involuntary almond cake diet that is proving very hard to give up.

So, the upside-down recipe simply refused to happen. In the middle of that frustration, I thought: even if I eventually crack it, it’s too temperamental. The result is never guaranteed. Do I really want to send our readers down an endless rabbit hole that produces absolutely delicious cakes, none of them Instagram-ready? Rita, don’t overcomplicate this. I have an almond cake batter fragrant with cinnamon and anise, soft and fluffy, exactly as intended. I have caramel — our coconut caramel, which we’ve already shared on the blog and which, at this point, deserves its own fan club. I have perfectly toasted slivered almonds. Let’s make a right-side-up cake instead, one that will never fail and will always, without exception, make everyone very happy.

And that’s how this Almond Loaf Cake with Coconut Caramel came to be — our Easter cake inspired by folar, the spiced Portuguese Easter bread that fills every bakery in the country from March onwards. Easy to make, guaranteed results, tested to the very last consequence. Your next great obsession. For Easter, and for any time of year. And if these flavours have won you over, do check out our vegan Easter cheesecake — with roasted almonds, cinnamon, date caramel, and a cashew cinnamon cream that will make you want to lick the plate — one of the most beloved recipes on the blog. For those who want to impress: make the full kit, caramel, almonds and all. For those who just want a light, incredibly flavourful cake: the cake on its own is more than enough.

What a lesson this whole process was. Simplify when you can, because sometimes the result is already perfect. You’re welcome and enjoy.