Gluten-Free Whole Meyer Lemon Almond Cake

Have I ever mentioned that I love baked goods? It's one of the reasons I run a few times a week. I run so I can eat cakey delicious sweets and not feel (too) guilty! Last week I picked up a bag of fresh Meyer lemons at the grocery store without any idea of what I was going to do with them. I pondered lemon bars but wasn't feeling it, so I settled on a lemon almond cake. This cake is made with a few simple ingredients and is certainly delicious and tangy! Hope you enjoy! Recipe was inspired by The View from the Great Island

 Gluten-Free Whole Meyer Lemon Almond Cake
Ingredients:
4 large Meyer Lemons
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups almond meal
1 tsp baking powder

1 tbs vanilla bean paste

for the icing
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 to 2 tbs milk 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F

Rinse lemons and put them in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes.
Drain the lemons and let them cool until you can handle them. Cut open and remove the seeds, but keep everything else. The WHOLE LEMON! Do this on a plate so you can retain the juices. Once you have removed all the seeds, put everything into a food processor or blender. 

Process until finely pureed. You will need roughly one cup of lemon puree for the cake.

Beat the eggs and the sugar until pale in color.
Add in the almond meal, baking powder, vanilla, and lemon puree. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Put batter into a greased and sugared (not floured) 9" springform pan. Smooth out the surface so it is even.
Bake for about 60 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then gently release the sides of the pan and remove the cake to finish cooling.

Make the icing while the cake is cooling. Combine the sugar with the butter, vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth and creamy. Adjust the texture by adding more sugar or milk. Spread the icing on the completely cooled cake.

the cooked lemons all chopped up!

The puree

the perfect slice

Apple and Pear Sangria

 

It's been almost 2 weeks since I made this recipe...where does the time go?! Between sleep deprivation, endless espressos and two small ones keeping me busy, the days often pass without any progress on the blog. 

The night before Halloween I whipped up this fantastic cocktail. I had a feeling we, adults, would need a refreshing and seasonal libation for trick-or-treating the next evening with the kids. This was perfect! 

Apple and Pear Sangria 


1 bottle Pinot Grigio 
3/4 cup brandy 
2 cups apple cider 
1 cup sparkling pomegranate juice ( I used Izze) 
2 honey crisp apples, sliced
2 pears, sliced 


Add everything to a large pitcher, refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours). Pour, enjoy, relax.