Lemon and Almond Tea Cake with Dandelion Glaze

My husband and I hosted a lovely Mother's Day Brunch this morning. As I was putting the menu together, I knew I wanted to serve a dessert of some sort - something light but flavorful that would satisfy our pallets with a hint of refreshing sweetness. This little cake did just that. I whipped it up in a jiff and no one could resist a second piece (see my Dandelion Jam recipe for the glaze).

What You'll Need

3/4 cup cake flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons almond extract
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup Dandelion Jam

*If you do not have cake flour, substitute with 5/8 cup of all purpose flour and 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter and flour a loaf pan and set aside (the wider the pan, the shorter the cake).
In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and white sugar. Beat on high speed until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. Do not over-beat. Add the almond extract and 3/4 of the zest. Set aside.
Pour the flour into a small bowl and whisk. Set aside.
In another separate bowl (I know... this recipe uses a lot of bowls, but it's worth it, I promise) beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. This means that when you lift the mixer out of the whites, the peaks left behind fall over gently to one side.
Add 1/3 of the whites to the yolk batter and gently fold in. Add 1/2 of the flour to the egg mixture and fold in. Repeat this until all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let's prepare a space for the cake to rest. Place a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet.
When the cake is done, take it out the oven and run a knife along the edges. Let it stand for 10 minutes.
While the cake is cooling, we can prepare the glaze. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the rest of the zest, the lemon juice, jam, and brown sugar. Stir and heat until the jam has melted and the glaze is smooth.
Next, take the cake out of the pan and place it on the cooling rack. Pour the glaze over the cake, making sure every inch is covered. Let the excess glaze run off the cake onto the cookie sheet below.
Let the cake stand until the glaze has solidified.
Serve with fresh fruit.