Very curious what the sesame, cashew, pistachio, and hazelnut cakes were like? Love this post as I’m obsessed with using nut flour in my bakes. I used finely ground pecans in my carrot cake this year and definitely agree with you that they add SO much depth!!!! But I love almond so much and need to make this immediately thank you!!! Also my sister wants me to make her a pistachio cake for her birthday so this is perfect timing as it’s only 2 weeks away. Thank you so much for sharing ur research it’s a god send every week for those of us wanting to improve our skills 💕
So the sesame was pretty strong flavoured and didn’t have texture like I thought it would. Hazelnut was divine. So rich! Pistachio also very very pleasant. Honestly they were all good haha - mix it up! I’m envisioning a pecan apple caramel situ come autumn. Can’t wait
I’m so happy the hazelnut was good I rlly wanna make a Ferrero rocher type bake !!!!! Also pecan caramel apple sounds insane and now I can’t wait till fall 😭
I'm impressed and a little overwhelmed with all the analysis and effort that goes into your recipes. (I became a subscriber so I could bake the egg white brownie recipe; they are wonderful.)
Like the reader below, I will probably try the almonds first, but I do have some pecans on hand.
I looked up the percentage of fat in pecans (72%), hazelnuts (62%), and peanuts (a surprisingly lean 47%) vs. almonds and pistachios (51%) because I am dreaming of making a delicious cake with each one of them.
So, if I read your essay correctly, if I were to use pecans ...
the weight of nuts would stay the same (125g of pecans)
but
I would need to reduce the amount of butter (from 160g to 111g, with butter being about 80% fat, 20% water) to keep the proportion of fat true to your recipe.
Loved every word/photo here. My go-to almond cake has always been a variation of Chez Panisse's, but Nicola, you've more than enticed me to give this one a try next time.
looks divine and such an interesting read! wondering your advice for incorporating fruit— thinking I need to put apricots in it for the fun noyaux crossover but can’t decide if I should lay them on top, a la your polenta rosemary cake, or place them in the bottom and flip after cooking? maybe bottom since the cake is more delicate and they’ll sink anyways?
Fantastic writeup!! I made a pecan version of Tartine's citrus almond cake a couple months ago and ran into a lot of the same things you encountered - fantastic flavor, but a much less appealing muddy brown color, and some sinkage from the high fat content. That cake has a LOT of eggs to hold up to the high fat content - I'd be curious to see how it stacks up ratio-wise against the rest of the lineup. My favorite was the section on how different almond textures affected the final bake - such valuable reference for anyone looking to make swaps based on what you can find at your local grocery store! Thanks for all your hard work <3
Very curious what the sesame, cashew, pistachio, and hazelnut cakes were like? Love this post as I’m obsessed with using nut flour in my bakes. I used finely ground pecans in my carrot cake this year and definitely agree with you that they add SO much depth!!!! But I love almond so much and need to make this immediately thank you!!! Also my sister wants me to make her a pistachio cake for her birthday so this is perfect timing as it’s only 2 weeks away. Thank you so much for sharing ur research it’s a god send every week for those of us wanting to improve our skills 💕
So the sesame was pretty strong flavoured and didn’t have texture like I thought it would. Hazelnut was divine. So rich! Pistachio also very very pleasant. Honestly they were all good haha - mix it up! I’m envisioning a pecan apple caramel situ come autumn. Can’t wait
I’m so happy the hazelnut was good I rlly wanna make a Ferrero rocher type bake !!!!! Also pecan caramel apple sounds insane and now I can’t wait till fall 😭
I'm impressed and a little overwhelmed with all the analysis and effort that goes into your recipes. (I became a subscriber so I could bake the egg white brownie recipe; they are wonderful.)
Like the reader below, I will probably try the almonds first, but I do have some pecans on hand.
I looked up the percentage of fat in pecans (72%), hazelnuts (62%), and peanuts (a surprisingly lean 47%) vs. almonds and pistachios (51%) because I am dreaming of making a delicious cake with each one of them.
So, if I read your essay correctly, if I were to use pecans ...
the weight of nuts would stay the same (125g of pecans)
but
I would need to reduce the amount of butter (from 160g to 111g, with butter being about 80% fat, 20% water) to keep the proportion of fat true to your recipe.
Is that right?
Thanks--and congratulations on your book!
Loved every word/photo here. My go-to almond cake has always been a variation of Chez Panisse's, but Nicola, you've more than enticed me to give this one a try next time.
The Chez Panisse with the marzipan is my "go-to" forever! Yet, giving this one a bake.
Almond paste! Not marzipan
Hi, I was wondering what your thoughts are on using oat flour? Can I sub the nut flour with oat flour in this recipe or do half and half? Thanks
I made this with 120 grams EVOO instead of butter and it worked wonderfully. Thanks NL xx
Made this cake recently, it was an absolute delight! An understated showstopper and worked very well topped with Greek yoghurt and some berries!
looks divine and such an interesting read! wondering your advice for incorporating fruit— thinking I need to put apricots in it for the fun noyaux crossover but can’t decide if I should lay them on top, a la your polenta rosemary cake, or place them in the bottom and flip after cooking? maybe bottom since the cake is more delicate and they’ll sink anyways?
Can’t wait to try this. Do you think the structure is stable enough to do a two tiered version with cream and fruit in the middle? 🙏
This looks exactly like my kind of cake. I'm in Canada, when you say "160 C fan" does this mean 320 F on the convection setting??
Yes, I’m a Brit in the US, so I make that translation all the time
Fantastic writeup!! I made a pecan version of Tartine's citrus almond cake a couple months ago and ran into a lot of the same things you encountered - fantastic flavor, but a much less appealing muddy brown color, and some sinkage from the high fat content. That cake has a LOT of eggs to hold up to the high fat content - I'd be curious to see how it stacks up ratio-wise against the rest of the lineup. My favorite was the section on how different almond textures affected the final bake - such valuable reference for anyone looking to make swaps based on what you can find at your local grocery store! Thanks for all your hard work <3
Love almond cake!! Yum. Thank you ☺️
Also love hazelnut and pistachio cakes, not in any particular order!