This recipe is adapted from one I discovered years ago in The Nut Book by Brigid Allen and has been a firm favourite ever since. Most importantly it is delicious - soft and moist without being too dense, equally popular as a dessert, with cream or ice cream, or as a tea- or coffee-time treat. But it’s also very nourishing, contains no butter, is relatively low in sugar, and is wheat and gluten free. Using unblanched almonds will add fibre and produce an appealing, uneven texture, but shop bought ground almonds will also give an excellent result.

Until recently, nuts had the reputation of being too high in calories to be regarded as healthy, due to the high levels of fat that they contain. But it’s now recognised that nut oils are actually very beneficial to our health, compared to the manufactured fats found in factory made products. People with a nut allergy should of course avoid them, although I understand that almonds are safer than most other nuts.

The cake will keep for several days, stored in a sealed container in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 175g unblanched almonds, or ground almonds
• 90g demerara or soft brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated into two bowls
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Method:

Line the base of a 20cm cake tin, ideally one with a loose base, with a circle of baking parchment.

Heat the oven to 180⁰C or gas 4.

If you are using whole almonds, grind them in a blender or food processor to a fine breadcrumb-like texture.

Whisk the egg-whites until stiff, then beat in half of the sugar.

Using the same whisk, beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar, yogurt and cinnamon, until thoroughly combined.

Tip the ground almonds into the egg yolk bowl and mix well.

Now stir in a quarter of the whisked egg-whites, which will loosen the mixture. Then lightly fold in the rest of the whites in three goes, using a metal tablespoon. Try not to knock out the air - you are aiming for a mousse-like consistency.

Transfer the mixture to your prepared tin and into the preheated oven. Baking time is about 25 - 30 minutes, but test after 20 minutes for done-ness with a skewer. Return to the oven if necessary; if the top is getting dark, cover with foil for the final 10 or so minutes.

Cool the cake in the tin for half an hour, then turn it out onto a rack. It will collapse slightly – this is normal.