since my wee little days,

my fammy has made the same very special almond cake every valentine's day!

it's super almond-y and pink,

and it is the best cake ever.

if i could, i'd eat it every day...

but every day is not valentine's day, so i can't.

here's the recipe:

cake ingredients: 

  1 tablespoon butter (for pan) 8 oz almond paste 6 eggs - separated 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract a pinch of salt 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 cup flour {you can substitute this for 1/2 cup of almond flour,

for those gfgfs and gfbfs {gluten-free girlfriends and gluten-free boyfriends}}

 topping ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
a very very generous splash of amaretto

chocolate hearts, candy hearts, gummy hearts

clues:

preheat oven to 350. butter spring form pan. beat almond paste and egg yolks really well. mix in vanilla and almond extract. beat egg whites and salt in another bowl 'till stiff peaks form, add sugar one tablespoon at a time. fold 1/3 of egg whites into almond paste mixture. gently fold in remaining whites. combine baking powder and flour in another bowl...gently fold into mixture 2 tablespoons at a time, being careful not to deflate whites. pour into pan, bake until top is lightly browned and a knife inserted into center comes out clean {about 30 minutes}.

for topping, whip cream. blend in powdered sugar. blend in amaretto {drink some amaretto}. cover or pipe over cake just before serving and embellish with candy hearts! if you won't be eating the entire cake right away, do not frost the entire thing-- serve a dollop of whipped cream on the side of each slice and store the rest in the fridge for your noshing purposes.

-yeh!!