Lemon Almond Cake

Happy Labor Day, everyone! It's nice to have a break from school, work, and general due dates, isn't it? This holiday weekend gave me the chance to unwind, hang out with friends, and of course, experiment with a few recipes. We had some forgotten lemons lying around the house, so I took the liberty of putting them to good use :) Enjoy this moist, zesty, and all-round lovely lemon almond cake:

Ingredients

Cake:
4 eggs, separated into 4 egg yolks and 4 egg whites, room temperature
2 Tbsp lemon zest, packed
1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar, divided 1/4 cup (50 g) and 1/4 cup (50 g)
1 1/2 cup (170 g) finely ground almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (make sure your baking powder is fresh!)
1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
Pinch of salt

Glaze: 
Agave nectar (to drizzle)
Powered sugar (to sprinkle)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter or cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat until smooth.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, starting on low speed and gradually increasing the speed. When bubbles start to form, add a pinch of salt and the teaspoon of vinegar (the salt and the vinegar will help the beaten egg whites maintain a better structure). As the egg whites begin to expand, sprinkle in the rest of the sugar (as you continue to beat the eggs whites).

Fold the beaten egg whites into the almond mixture a large spoonful at a time.

Gently scoop the batter into a the prepared springform pan and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes before removing from the oven to drizzle with a desired amount of agave nectar (this adds a nice glaze to the cake). 

Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let cool before sprinkling with powered sugar. Enjoy!