Rachel Allen's almond brittle cake

Details

• Cuisine: English
• Recipe Type: Cake
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 25 mins
• Serves: 12

Step-by-step

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan oven 170°C, Gas Mark 5. Grease the 2 x 18cm (7 inch) deep sandwich tins or cake tins with a little butter and line the bases with baking paper or greaseproof paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, then gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition. Sieve the flour and baking powder together, then add to the creamed mixture with the ground almonds. Stir in the milk.
3. Divide equally between the prepared tins. Bake for 22-25 minutes.
4. While the cakes are cooking, make the almond brittle. First, grease a baking sheet with a little vegetable oil. Next, combine the sugar and almonds in a heavy saucepan. Put over a medium-low heat until the sugar turns caramel colour, carefully rotating the pan until the almonds are covered – this will only take a few minutes. Very carefully pour the mixture onto the baking sheet. Cool. (TAKE GREAT CARE when making caramel and NEVER touch it – it reaches an extremely high temperature. Keep a watchful eye on the pan as you make it – don’t just leave it to cook).
5. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool in the tins for a few minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
6. To make the icing, beat the butter until soft, then gradually beat in the icing sugar, using a hand-held electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla extract. Chop half the cooled almond brittle finely and stir it into the icing.
7. To assemble, spilt each cake in half. Spread with butter icing, then sandwich the two cakes together with more icing. Spread the rest of the icing around the top and sides of the cake.
8. Break off some shards of almond brittle and arrange on top of the cake. Coarsely chop the rest and sprinkle over the top of the cake.