Immensely popular in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Portugal cake fell from favor as white flour slowly replaced the more luxurious, and expensive, blanched almonds. It’s a pity, really. A Portugal cake is an exquisite confection, incomparably rich owing to the inclusion of a pound each of butter, almonds, and sugar. Spiked with sherry and rosewater and dotted with currants, a slice of Portugal cake tastes impossibly moist and rich and is best reserved for special occasions. This recipe makes two 8-inch cakes, and is easily halved to make just one cake.
MAKES: TWO 8-INCH CAKES, TO SERVE 16
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 2¼ cups unrefined cane sugar
- 12 eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons sweet sherry
- 2 tablespoons rosewater
- ½ teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt
- 4¾ cups blanched almond flour
- 1 cup dried currants
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
- Beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until uniformly combined.
- Beat in the eggs and continue beating until the batter becomes light and fluffy.
- Stir in the sherry, rosewater, and salt.
- Beat in the almond flour ½ cup at a time.
- Continue beating the batter by hand until you’ve removed any clumps, then fold in the currants.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for 45 minutes, until their tops are a deep mahogany brown but their centers remain a touch wobbly.
- Let the cakes cool completely in the pans, then invert them onto serving plates.
- If you like, dust the surfaces with powdered sugar before slicing and serving.
- Store the cakes in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
