Rachel's Spanish almond cake

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter the sides of the cake tin and cut a round of greaseproof paper to line the base. Separate the eggs and put the yolks into a medium bowl. Add 130g of the sugar and beat until slightly pale in colour. Add the ground almonds and mix to combine.

2. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then add the remaining 20g of sugar and continue whisking the mixture until it forms stiff peaks. Stir one-third of the whisked egg whites into the almond mixture, then carefully fold in the rest in two batches, not knocking out any air.

3. Pour the cake batter into the tin and place in the centre of the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre (too high up in the oven and the top gets too brown). When cooked, let it sit for a few minutes in the tin, then remove and cool slightly on a wire rack. Sieve some icing sugar over the top.
   This recipe is from Rachel's Favourite Food by Rachel Allen.