Italian Almond Cake, 1 1/2″ (3.8cm) x 9″(22.9cm) dia., mixed media
If I were to write a book, it would be one about comparative cooking. I remember how revealing a college class in comparative anatomy was. I would construct my book on that model. I would collect recipes (First I would have to learn how to spell the word, recipe, reliably.) and array the ingredients by amount in tables. Using the recipes, I would prepare a subject food, systematically vary ingredients and share the results with a group of test tasters collecting their comments.
Well, it seems that I don’t have to do it. My wife, Cathy, a very talented cook, found the magazine, Cook’s Illustrated - yeah, like Sports Illustrated, but with an apostrophe s - , at the local Vitamin Cottage store. This magazine has sobering articles like “The Problem with Deep-Dish Apple Pie,” “Rescuing Oatmeal Scones,” and “Resurrecting Raised Waffles,” revealing articles like “The Best Sugar Cookies,” and “Demystifying Baked Alaska,” instructional articles like “Pie Dough 101,” and “How to make Black forest Cake.” As you can tell, this was the holiday baking issue all sugar and sweet. Also, no full color, glossy advertising fills the magazine.
Cathy went with “Italian Almond Cake” by Sarah Wilson. The commentary that went with the recipe was about twelve column inches long and read a little like an article in the New Journal of Chemistry: “Theoretically, the cake cold contain as little as almonds, flour, sugar, salt, eggs and butter;” and “The cake had good structure, with a light spring and tender crumb.” Wow, are there ASTM standard tests for these kinds of things? Wilson shares her systematic experiments telling how her cakes varied and what led her to the next experiment. I have never read such a thorough discussion of a recipe.
The result was an incredible, single layer cake with a rich, nutty flavor that wasn’t dense. Go to page 29 in the holiday issue.
