Rüeblitorte (Swiss Carrot and Almond Cake)

📝 Ingredients

• 300 g carrots (about 3 large, 100 g each)
• 200 g ground almonds
• 4 eggs (about 50 g each)
• 120 g caster sugar (100 g for the yolks, 20 g for the whites)
• 40 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder (5 g)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 unwaxed lemon (zest for the batter, 1 tbsp juice for the glaze)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 80 g icing sugar (for the glaze)

🍴 Utensils

• Fine grater
• 2 mixing bowls
• Electric hand mixer
• Flexible spatula
• 24 cm springform tin and baking paper
• Citrus juicer

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional) and line the base of a 24 cm springform tin with baking paper. Peel the carrots and grate them as finely as possible: fine shreds melt into the cake, coarse ones stay crunchy.
2. Wash the lemon, finely grate its zest, then squeeze one half and set aside 1 tbsp juice for the glaze. Separate the whites from the yolks into two mixing bowls, without letting the slightest trace of yolk fall into the whites, otherwise they won't whisk up.
3. Whisk the yolks with 100 g of sugar and the lemon zest for 3 minutes with an electric mixer, until the mixture turns pale, thick and foamy. This step is what gives lightness to an almost flourless cake.
4. Add the grated carrots and ground almonds, then the flour mixed with the baking powder and cinnamon. Mix with the spatula until you have a thick, even batter, without trying to make it perfectly smooth.
5. Wash and dry the beaters thoroughly. Whisk the whites with the pinch of salt at medium speed; when they are foamy, add the remaining 20 g of sugar and whisk until stiff and glossy, forming a peak at the end of the whisk.
6. Stir a third of the whites into the batter, mixing vigorously to loosen it, then add the rest in two batches, gently folding the batter from bottom to top with the spatula, without stirring, until no white streaks remain.
7. Pour into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 45 to 50 minutes on the middle shelf. The cake is done when it is nicely golden and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. If it browns too quickly, cover it with a sheet of baking paper after 30 minutes.
8. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, run a thin knife around the edge to loosen the cake, then release the springform ring. Leave to cool completely on a plate, for at least 1 hour: on a cake that is still warm, the glaze would melt and run.
9. Tip the icing sugar into a clean bowl and gradually add the reserved lemon juice, stirring, until you have a thick but spreadable glaze; if it's too thick, add a few drops of water. Spread it over the top of the cake and leave to set for 20 minutes.