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1
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they form a smooth pale cream.
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2
Beat in the zests and almond extract.
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3
Beat in the zests and almond extract.
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4
With clean beaters, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Gently fold them into the egg and almond mixture, which is quite thick at this point. Fold until combined.
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5
Grease an 11-inch springform pan, preferably nonstick, with butter and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.
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6
Pour in the cake batter, and bake into a preheated oven at 350u00b0F for 40 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
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7
Cool cake before releasing cake from the pan.
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8
Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar. Or, if you like, cut a St. James cross out of paper. Place it in the middle of the cake, and dust the cake with confectioners' sugar, then remove the cross. Almonds on top are not traditional but it was Easter so I used them to take this cake from humble to elegant.
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9
Secret moistness tip? Right after you release the cake from the pan, gently slide it into a large plastic freezer bag with the parchment still on the bottom. Close the bag tightly. Cool the cake in the refrigerator. When you take it out, all the steam will have settled back into the cake leaving you with an incredibly moist cake. I do this with fruit breads as well. You end up with a very moist top which is not a problem at all if you are dusting the top with powdered sugar! Well worth it!
